The Ethics Of Virtue Ethics - 925 Words

Virtue ethics is a normative theory whose foundations were laid by Aristotle. This theory approaches normative ethics in substantially different ways than consequentialist and deontological theories. In this essay, I will contrast and compare virtue ethics to utilitarianism, ethical egoism, and Kantianism to demonstrate these differences. There is one fundamental aspect of virtue ethics that sets it apart from the other theories I will discuss. For the sake of brevity and to avoid redundancy, I will address it separately. This is the fundamental difference between acting ethically within utilitarianism, egoism, and Kantianism. And being ethical within virtue ethics. The other theories seek to define the ethics of actions while virtue ethics does not judge actions in any way. The other theories deal with how we should act, while virtue ethics determines how we should be. The first theory I will compare virtue ethics against is ethical egoism. The two theories share a commonality apart from being normative in nature. They both seek what is best for the doer. Aristotle claimed that happiness is ultimately attained by striving for the â€Å"function of man† which is the excellence found within virtue. This is comparable to ethical egoism because of it’s principle of exclusively acting in one’s own best interest. While virtue ethics states that a virtuous character is the goal, ethical egoism is not specific to what is in a person’s best interest. If attaining a virtuous character isShow MoreRelatedThe Ethics Of Virtue Ethics1502 Words   |  7 PagesVirtue ethics is a philosophical theory that focuses on what sort of person one should be, instead of on actions. Aristotle focuses greatly on virtue ethics in his writing, and is a strong believer in a moral person being one of virtue. He is seen as the person whodeveloped the t heory. Unlike some of the other ethical theories, virtue ethics focuses on what makes a life moral, not so much how to become moral, or behave morally. For example, utilitarianism questions how one should act in certain situationsRead MoreEthics : Virtue Ethics And Ethics1351 Words   |  6 Pages 1. what is virtue ethics and what does it do that the two major ethical approaches do not? Virtue ethics is one of the three major approaches in ethics. This approach of ethics emphasizes the virtues, or moral character, in contrast to other approaches which emphasizes duties or rules. Virtue ethics has three central concepts; virtue, practical wisdom, and eudemonia, however, these are often misunderstood. The three approaches of ethics are virtue ethics, consequentialist ethics, and deontologyRead MoreThe Ethics Of Virtue Ethics1796 Words   |  8 PagesAlthough Hursthouse accepts that virtue ethics ‘†¦cannot tell us what we should do’, she nonetheless reasons in a different way to show how virtue ethics aids us. Furthermore, Hursthouse would refute virtue ethics being insufficiently action-guiding because we have v-rules in the form of virtues and vices to provide action-guidance (Hursthouse, 1999). Elizabeth Anscombe in ‘Modern Moral Philosophy’ (1958) also contributed to virtue ethics and put forward the idea that modern moral philosophy is misguidedRead MoreVirtue Ethics1184 Words   |  5 PagesIntroduction 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. His theory was originally introduced in ancient Greek times. Aristotle was a great believer in virtues and the meaning of virtue to him meant being able to fulfil ones functions. Virtue ethics is not so much interested in the question What should I do? but rather in theRead MoreThe Ethics of Virtue667 Words   |  3 Pagesinformed decision whether to kick you out of the house or remain in the relationship. Aristotle would have agreed. The virtue ethics of Aristotle suggest that lying is wrong because honesty is a virtue. It is important to build character and bring out the best in human nature. Lying brings out a negative side of human nature, and it is morally preferable to be virtuous. Utilitarian ethics leave room for occasional lying, under the assumption that sometimes lies actually serve the common good. HonestyRead MoreVirtue Ethics692 Words   |  3 Pagesformation thereof. Among these theories are virtue theories, utilitarianism, and deontological ethics. Each type of theory has been extensively argued, yet no one approach is definitive. Virtue ethics are theories that highlight the importance of character and morals over dutiful behaviors. Many virtue theories are rooted in Aristotles teachings, which argue that a virtuous person is someone who has ideal character traits (Athanassoulis, 2004). Virtue theories are founded upon the contention thatRead MoreVirtue Ethics And Care Ethics1938 Words   |  8 Pagesparticular—virtue ethics and care ethics, have continued to catch much attention since the mid-twentieth century. Although each of these theories are often associated with one another, they both contain their own distinct philosophies. As a result, it is important to clearly understand what each theory entails before concluding that one is derived from the other. Although virtue ethics and care ethics share similar beliefs and rejections, virtue ethics is clearly separate from care ethics. VirtueRead MoreThe Ethics Of Care, And Virtue Ethics955 Words   |  4 Pagesperfect moral philosophy, which is why I will be taking bits and parts from the five different one to make one which fits my life style and morals. The five I will be dissecting are, Utilitarianism, Social Contract Theory, Kant, The Ethics of Care, and Virtue Ethics. Utilitarianism is a theory which I can agree with, mostly. I would like to do what makes the majority of people happy, however, it might not always be the correct decision. An example would be people at a workplace each decide toRead MoreBusiness Ethics And Virtue Ethics1277 Words   |  6 PagesBusiness Ethics and Virtue Ethics There are many things that make a company unique and successful. The liberty of working in an organization in society today is that, companies are filled with many different individuals from all ways of life. It’s these people who bring something new, innovative and exciting to their line of work and often times you will find positively affect the others around them. Within my military profession it is the leadership and the culture of our environment that makesRead MoreEthics, Teleological And Virtue Ethics2117 Words   |  9 Pagesthis term we have learned a lot about ethics and how we should carry ourselves in our daily lives. Certain situations makes being ethical a little difficult to do as we have seen in this course, but because it’s not easy doesn’t mean we should not stick to doing the right things. These are some of the things that we have learned this term: â€Å"Normative ethical systems can generally be broken down into three categories: deontologi cal, teleological and virtue ethics. The first two are considered deontic