Virtue of Ethics. Virtue of ethics is based on principles and the virtues of individuals. This approach is based or featured on the individual rather than the actions a person takes. It focuses on the “virtue and moral character of the individual or person performing the action” (Rachel’s & Rachel’s, 2015, p. 159). “Duties” and “rules” are not the focus to this approach as like with the deontological approach (Rachel’s & Rachel’s, 2015, p. 159-160). It also does not focus on the consequences of action like the consequentialist approach does when it comes to ethics. It does however, still consider and focus on whether the action is right or wrong. The virtue of ethics is more of a “guide of characteristics and behaviors” of how an individual …show more content…
How do they fit into our work or career? Virtue ethics believes that that people who live virtuously has the ability to know or sense right from wrong. People do have virtues, but every individual is different and may not live by the same virtues. Working in substance abuse we need to be fair, compassionate, trustworthy, honest, etc., but living virtuously does not mean we are good people. Think about companies we heard about employees embezzle money after years of being with a company. Other virtues come into play as we progress as individuals and professionals, things, people and places can cause individual’s to lose track of their virtues down the line. Deontological approach to ethics is based on obligation or obligations. Employees of an organization are to obey the rules. This is more important than the outcome of a person’s action. Employees are to have an understanding of the rules, and act on moral obligation through binding principles governed by the employer. Those principles are to be followed no matter what the circumstances may be. With working in substance abuse unique ethical dilemmas such as clients and counselors forming a sexual relationship can arise. This is unacceptable and is a principle that is included in an appropriate code of ethics, and employees are obligated to obey. Many do not follow this obligations because their emotions and behavior cloud their judgement. The consequentialist approach believes in judging the consequences of a behavior or action when determining if it’s right or wrong. Actions that produce a greater number or good are right and those that don’t or reduce happiness in the world are wrong. In the workplace and life sometimes it not all peaches and cream. Sometimes the greater good for one can cause greater harm to others. Take for instance for the last 20 years I have been donating to five separate charities. Doing a
Now “Imagine a famine. [You and your sister are starving and you have only one loaf of bread between the two of you. Your sister is too weak to move so you get to decide who gets to eat. What will you do?]” (Margaret atwood, Bread, 1983, p. 390). If the virtue approach is used in this situation all of the bread will be given to the sister and therefore no guilt will be accumulated. This can be considered a good ethical code for the situation because even if both were to die there would be no regrets or dissatisfaction which is the purpose of ethics in the first place. The virtue approach
The word “Ethics” has its root in the Greek word ‘ethos’, which means character, spirit and attitude of a group of people or culture. Ethics is defined in the Concise Oxford Dictionary as: a system of moral principles, by which human actions may be judged good or bad or right or wrong, and the rules of conduct recognized in respect of a particular class of human actions.
Virtue ethics is an approach that “deemphasizes rules, consequences and particular acts and places the focus on the kind of person who is acting” (Garrett, 2005). A person’s character is the totality of his character traits. Our character traits can be goo...
In this essay I will consider the objections to Virtue Ethics (VE) raised by Robert Louden in his article entitled On Some Vices of Virtue Ethics which was published in 1984. It is important to note at the outset of this essay that it was not until 1991 that the v-rules came up in literature. So Louden is assuming throughout his article that the only action guidance that VE can give is “Do what the virtuous agent would do in the circumstances.” I will be addressing Louden’s objections with the benefit of knowing about the v-rules. First of all, let us discuss what VE is. VE is a normative ethical theory that emphasises the virtues or moral character, thus it focuses on the moral agent. It differs from Deontology which emphasises duties or rules, and Utilitarianism which emphasises the consequences of our actions.
The virtue ethics approach differs with other frameworks in that; it is not an ethical theory in the same way that Utilitarianism or Kantianism are, It is not so much a guide for moral decision-making, more a description of the moral life. Theories such as Utilitarianism and Kantianism address the question “How should I act?” – Virtue Theory addresses the questions “How should I live my life?”, and “What kind of person should I be?”It is interested in the whole person, not just their actions.
When we discuss morality we know that it is a code of values that seem to guide our choices and actions. Choices and actions play a significant role in determining the purpose and course of a person’s life. In the case of “Jim and the Indians”, Jim faces a terrible dilemma to which any solution is morbid. On one hand, Jim can choose to ignore the captain’s suggestion and let the whole group of Indians be executed. Alternatively, he may decide upon sacrificing one Indian for the sake of saving the rest. Both options involve taking of person’s life. Regarding what should Jim do in this circumstance, there are two approaches according for Jim’s dilemma that should be examined. By looking into the Deontological moral theory and the moral theory of Consequentialism we can see what determines an action that is morally required.
All the other systems of ethics cover being a morally good person and upholding certain moral laws and that is it, but virtue ethics covers being a morally good person and achieving what they believe is the purpose of human life. In virtue ethics they even go as far as telling us what we need to do to achieve this good life or finding our eudaimonia, Aristotle stated “ to achieve eudaimonia, human beings must fulfill the function that is natural and distinctive to them; living fully in accordance with reason” (136). No other system of ethics offers us reason and basically a road map to achieving this happiness. Virtue ethics instead of looking at the universe problems it first enables a person to look at themselves then look at what is needed to be truly
Of the three main ethical systems discussed in class that I chose was, ethics of virtue. Ethics of virtue is an ethical theory that emphasizes an individual’s character (morals/virtues), rather than following a set of rules. If people focused on being good people then maybe the right actions will follow. Virtue is a skill that cannot be taught, it’s a way of living that can only really be learned through experience. Aristotle stated that, “a virtuous person can be seen as someone who has ideal character traits”. It requires a person to seek the ultimate good according to their moral virtues. I use this ethical system all the time because of how I was raised and it defines the type of person I am. The outcome and motive is
Secondly, the possibility of the right to lie is refuted on the basis of virtue ethics, which maintains that lying is morally wrong though the argument or claim is less strict as compared to Kant’s statement. Virtue ethics generally provides a different approach to ethics by focusing on character development of individuals. As a result, virtue ethicists tend to look at what people should be with regards to their character rather than determining the right or wrong of a behavior simply on the basis of reason and desired and undesired behavior (Mazur par, 5). In this case, virtues are desirable characteristics of individuals that make them act in a specific way. According to virtue ethicists, being virtuous is regarded as being ethical because it is a reflection of the individual traits of fairness and striving towards accomplishment of human potential.
Every individual has certain rules and guidelines by which they base their decisions off of. There are certain rules that determine people’s actions and these rules may differ from one individual or group to another. These rules are the principles that direct an individual’s actions and are collectively known as ethics. Ethics is important because it helps one differentiate between what is right and wrong when making decisions. Ethics also includes the moral codes or values that a person holds, which are more personal than the codes of ethics. In the role of morality I identify myself most with the philosopher Immanuel Kant because of the similarities shared between our philosophies.
The concept of virtue ethics was first developed by Aristotle in 'nichomachean ethics '. He believed that the point of ethics is to become good, and virtue ethics highlights this well. It is an agent centred idea of morality and focuses on how a person can develop virtues and what sort of person you should be, rather than how you should act in order to be good. An alternative name for it is aretaic ethics, which comes from the Greek arete meaning any kind of excellence.
Virtue Ethics Virtue ethics is a theory used to make moral decisions. It does not rely on religion, society or culture; it only depends on the individuals themselves. The main philosopher of Virtue Ethics is Aristotle. The. His theory was originally introduced in ancient Greek.
In this paper, I argue about the applicability of virtue ethics which is one of three major branches of normative ethics. The subject of virtue ethics is normally defined as one that puts emphasis on virtues which are also known as moral character. The branch is in contrast to the majority of the approaches which places a lot of emphasizes on responsibilities and rules. The practice is also known as deontology or the practice which emphasizes on the results of actions. It is also known as consequentialism (Swanton,11).The way virtue ethics is applied in modern philosophy should be clearly evaluated.
This theory involves evaluating the individual making the decision rather than the actions or consequences themselves. Aristotle defined “virtue as a character trait that manifests itself in habitual actions.” (Boatright, 2012) This means that you are not considered virtuous because you did the right thing one time, you must be consistent. Virtue character traits include: compassion, courage, courtesy, etc. these traits not only allow for ethical decision making but they also provide happiness to the individual possessing the traits. When a person has virtue as a part of their character their actions will be moral and ethical without having to choose between what they want to do and what they should do – the decision would be the same. Their actions and feelings would coincide with the moral rationale of the virtue theory. Advantages of the virtue theory are instilling good moral character traits into individuals allowing for more ethical decision making based on personal character. Also, the virtue theory promotes happiness through good moral character which encourages people to make ethical business decisions but also ethical personal decisions – leading to a more fulfilling life. A disadvantage is virtue ethics is trying to determine a list of virtues that people should possess, each trait needs to be carefully
Ethics is the branch of philosophy that involves systematizing, defending, and recommending concepts of right and wrong conduct. The term ethics derives from the Ancient Greek word ἠθικός ethikos, which is derived from the word ἦθος ethos . The branch of philosophy axiology comprises the sub-branches of Ethics and aesthetics, each concerned with concepts of value.