On Virtue Ethics

Abstract

On Virtue Ethics is an exposition and defence of neo‐Aristotelian virtue ethics. The first part discusses the ways in which it can provide action guidance and action assessment, which are usually given by the v‐rules—rules generated from the names of the virtues and vices such as ‘Do what is honest’, ‘Do not do what is dishonest’. That such rules may (apparently) conflict, leads to an exploration of the virtue ethics approach to resolvable, irresolvable, and tragic dilemmas. The second part is about the role of the emotions in virtue and vice, since it examines the inculcation of racism through the miseducation of the emotions. Kant and Aristotle are compared on the question of moral motivation, and a virtue ethics’ account of acting ‘from a sense of duty’ provided. The third part is on ‘the rationality of morality’ in relation to virtue ethics, the question of whether there is any ‘objective’ criterion for a certain character trait being a virtue. The standard neo‐Aristotelian premise that ‘A virtue is a character trait a human being needs for eudaimonia, to flourish or live well’ should be regarded as encapsulating two interrelated claims, namely, that the virtues benefit their possessor, and that the virtues make their possessor good qua human being (human beings need the virtues in order to live a characteristically good human life.) The second claim is defended in terms of a form of ethical naturalism—the enterprise of basing ethics in some way on considerations of human nature—but a form that explicitly disavows any pretensions to being purely scientific.

Can Doctors Maintain Good Character? An Examination of Physician Lives

“…That is to say, while examining virtues generated through the framework of medicine is important, there still needs to be an examination of a whole human life. 3 For an account of eudaimonia in line with the intent of this paper, see Hursthouse (1999) where she writes that eudaimonia is the Bnotion of 'true (or real) happiness', or 'the sort of happiness worth having'. We tend to say that someone may be happy, though not truly happy, if they are living in a fool's paradise, or engaged in what we know is a pointless activity, or brain-damaged and leading a life of a happy child^(10).…”

“…2 Before I begin to speak of the character of a physician, it would help to shed some light on why a focus on character is helpful. The question of the applicability of virtue theory has been widely discussed, both within the field of medical ethics (Hursthouse 1999) and within value theory (Gardiner 2003;Jansen 2000;Pellegrino & Thomasma 1993;Putman 1988). Here, my aim is to highlight how considerations of character can illuminate certain deficiencies within physicians' lives, which otherwise would not be as prominently visible.…”

The Conception of Life in Synthetic Biology

“…A moral person acts from certain character dispositions such as helpfulness or generosity, which are called 'virtues' (Hursthouse 2007). The emphasis on virtues directs the attention towards the attitudes and conceptions of an agent.…”

Interpreting Advance Directives: Ethical Considerations of the Interplay Between Personal and Cultural Identity

“…'Ethics of a good life' is used here as an umbrella term which encompasses both virtue ethics as the ethical reflection of a morally meritorious life which is responsive to the demands of the world [17] as well as so called 'perfectionism' [16]. When we discuss 'ethics of a good life' we pay attention to a number of topics that have been mostly neglected by modern moral philosophy: virtues and moral character, moral education, moral wisdom or discernment, friendship and family relationships, a deep concept of happiness, the role of the emotions in our moral life and the fundamentally important questions of what sort of person I should be and how we should live (see [17]). 1 Therefore, ethics of a good life always encompasses an individual and a social dimension.…”