...June 2014 Understanding Virtues Virtues are important traits and morals for each person to learn. It means a behavior showing high moral standards. The essay by Kwame Anthony Appiah approaches the topic of ethical behavior with this sentence “Does the virtuous act make the agent virtuous or does the virtuous agent make the act virtuous?” He points out it is difficult to evaluate a situation and decide if it was the individual or the action that improved the circumstances. Humans are known for their flawed nature for a reason as Appiah points out “[the] Playful man. . . angry man. . . serious man. . . same fellow, different situations.” There are morals for each person, they can follow some and not the other but they are all important morals in the end. (Appiah 401) Humans will not always address situations of ethical dilemma with the same matter or approach. For example, external factors like hunger level, fatigue and stress will influence a person’s response to a certain or particular situation. Given a different day and time that same individual may react quite differently because of their feelings. Everybody can relate. I also notice many actions that I may do resulting in this matter without realizing it. It’s from our human tendencies to respond to different scenarios with a moral dilemma. Through our actions and experiences, a character is created. In the essay by Appiah, he explains the differences between situational ethics and virtue ethics. Situational ethics...
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...In “Liberal Studies and Education” by Seneca, the path to virtue is through wisdom. The effects of virtue are illustrated through the characteristics of moderation, exercising self-control, and kindness. One achieves virtue when acquiring wisdom. Seneca comments, “But there is only one really liberal study, - that which gives a man his liberty. It is the study of wisdom, and that is lofty, brave, and great-souled.” Seneca is stating that plain knowledge, learning facts, and memorizing allows one to know things but does not lead to wisdom. Hence, wisdom is the way to virtue. Seneca then remarks, one knows “what a straight line is; but how does it benefit you if you do not know what is straight in this life of ours?” (Seneca 24) People tend to know the difference between right and wrong, but don’t know how to apply the difference in their own life. One can be wise and knowledgeable, but just being knowledgeable does not make you wise. The effects of virtue are significant. One effect of becoming virtuous is moderation. Seneca writes, “The mathematician teaches me how to lay out the dimensions of my estates; but I should rather be taught to lay out what is enough for a man to own.” (Seneca 24) Men are so concerned with wanting to own more but fail to realize the exuberant amount of land they have is more than they can handle. The level of pettiness for our belongings creates a whole new scale. Man needs to learn how to move away from greed and move closer to generosity. Seneca...
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...culture and every civilization of the world. These principles are what define and distinguish us as human beings giving rise to moral and ethical precepts. Values are conferred and inculcated into us by various agents of cultural influence such as the family unit, a myriad of institutions and social structures, and mostly importantly the cultural edifice of mutually affirmed inter-subjectivity. These same values serve as a cultural and linguistic prism through which we perceive and make the world palpable, recognizable and intelligible. Although most values are limited to the cultural and social milieu which any given individual inhabits and navigates, some values are universal and unwavering across all lifestyles and customs. The values and virtues I will be discussing have foot in both domains of understanding but are mostly intrinsic to the human condition and human existence, applicable and sought by...
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...Virtues We’ve all heard the famous quote “patience is a virtue”. As true as this statement is, I don’t think we really grasp the meaning of what a virtue really is. I would describe a virtue as a morally good character trait that one is not born with, but must strive for. Patience is a perfect example of this. No child is born with patience. Many times a child will interrupt the mother who is in the middle of a conversation because it wants candy and simply cannot wait for the mother to finish the conversation. So what is it that makes virtues important? I believe the answer can be found in the theory of Virtue Ethics. Virtue Ethics is the theory of how people should be. In other words, we shouldn’t act with honesty, we should be honest. By being honest, honesty becomes second nature to us. It is easier for someone to be honest if they have the virtue of honesty. Being virtuous will benefit someone when they are faced with decisions, challenges, or circumstances. For example, it will benefit a college student to be perseverant because obtaining a degree is not easy. Virtue Ethics defines the context of right and wrong based on the virtues valued in a society. The right thing to do in society as we know it would be to act with virtues like honesty or integrity and the wrong thing to do would be to act with vice, the opposite of a virtue. I believe there are many things about virtue ethics that are true. What I agree with most is Aristotle’s view of how virtues...
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...Virtue Ethics—Analysis of the Virtue Expected | Virtue ethics draws its inspiration from the Greek philosopher Aristotle (384–322 B. C.). In Th e Nicomachean Ethics he explored the nature of a good life. He thought that the goal of life is happiness. Th is is not happiness in a hedonistic sense. Instead, happiness, for Aristotle, is an activity of the soul. We fulfi ll our goal of being happy by living a virtuous life, a life in accordance with reason. Now, virtue is a character of the soul that is demonstrated only in voluntary actions (i.e., in acts that are freely chosen after deliberation). So, we become virtuous by regularly performing virtues acts. But Aristotle also felt that there is a need for ethical education so that people will know what acts are virtuous. Aristotle thought that we can understand and identify virtues by arranging human characteristics in triads, with the two extremes being vices and the middle one being a virtue. For Aristotle, courage is the mean between cowardice and rashness; temperance is between self-indulgence and insensibility. Th e other virtues of pride, ambition, good temper, friendliness, truthfulness, ready wit, shame, and justice can similarly be seen as the middle way between two vices. Virtue is the golden mean. Th is is not an arithmetic mean, but rather a path between extremes positions that would vary depending upon the circumstances. You need to use your reasoning to identify the mean in each ethical situation, and you become better...
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...The Scrutiny of Virtue Virtue is a mean condition which falls between the extremes of excess and deficiency which are both subject to vices. Either of those two vices, or the practices of base behaviors, happen to rely on the virtue that one aims for. For instance, courage is a virtue of which cowardice and rashness are the deficiency and excess of respectively. Evidence of this is seen in Book II, Chapter 9 of Nichomachean Ethics where Aristotle mentions “…virtue of character is a mean condition, and in what way, namely because it is a mean between two kinds of vice, the one resulting from excess and the other from deficiency…” It is important to understand that virtue is not acquired naturally but rather through being-at-work. Virtue is not merely a habit of preoccupation of what one deems right or wrong, on the other hand it is an adherence to active states. The latter matter mentioned above can also be thought of as being-at-work. If one does not captivate to see how being at work is indispensable to the meaning of virtue, one cannot practice virtue. For this reason, one might ponder, “What are the implications of being-at-work?” The implications of being-at-work lay the foundation of the path to happiness. A happiness that contrary to popular belief, is not slavishly tied to circumstances whose lasting effects are but temporary, but a happiness that can only be obtained as a result of living a virtuous life. Likewise, a true friendship will help an individual in...
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...THE VALUE OF VIRTUE Virtue is a life lived in accordance to the moral standards agreed upon by the generality of the people and sanctioned by a divine being. It is that possessed only by the really wise and not taken to by the foolish. It is that which is not so easy to come by, like everything that has value. Virtue is not an act but a habit, not an occurrence but a lifestyle; what we repeatedly do. Virtue is standing upright for whatsoever is worthwhile. A man of virtue is a man of character. He is held in high esteem by all and sundry and accorded respect for his good moral behaviors. If there is anything that is highly honored and valued by God, it is uprightness. If there is anything that commands any universal appeal, honor, respect and appreciation, it is virtue. By that same token, if there is anything that has been gravely weakened and misunderstood, it is still the selfsame appellation, virtue. It saddens the heart noticing the intimidating compass in moral decadence, negligence of duties, perversion of sexual purity and the cause of justice, bribery, child abuse, kidnapping, greed, immoral acts, selfishness...
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...Virtues and Morals University Affiliation Student’s Name Virtues and Morals Virtues lead to the carrying out of an action as opposed to ethical rules and duties or even consequences that one experiences after performing a certain task. They don’t just deal with the wrongness or rightness of one’s actions; they provide guidance as to the kind of behavior and actions one needs to act upon in order to achieve the sense of being good. Therefore, virtues are basically concerned with the entire aspect of a person’s existence, rather than just specific actions or episodes. In short someone that is deemed to be good is one who lives virtuously i.e. posses as well as lives the virtues. The theory is very useful based on that fact that human beings are usually more interested in judging the personality of an individual rather that evaluating the badness or goodness of one of his actions. Therefore, in order to build a better society, is to assist all of its members to be good people as opposed to `using punishments and laws to deter or prevent awful actions. It would not be helpful if one was known to be a saint in order to be called good. For the virtue theory to hold, it only requires to establish just a minimum set of character traits that one needs to be in possession of so as to be said is virtuous (Timpe & Boyd, 2014). Virtue ethics established that: * One who is virtuous is one who acts virtuously. * A particular action is only said to be right if it an act that...
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...is to try to make unequal things equal”. Aristotle repeatedly claims that character-virtue 'makes the goal right,' while Phronesis is responsible for working out how to achieve the target. (Moss, 2011) The contemporary public figure that illustrates the concept of virtue as described by Aristotle to me would be the American actor Willard Carroll “Will” Smith Jr. BODY Willard Carroll Smith Jr. also better known as the “Will” Smith is an American actor, rapper, comedian, songwriter, and producer (World book, 2016). He illustrates the concept of virtues that were described by Aristotle in many ways. Having wittiness of act, showing an appropriate desire to achieve, having generosity, and magnificence. He gives an excellent representation of how a person should live by for success in this contemporary world. A lot of actors are focused on themselves and get lost in greed of wealth. Will Smith show magnificence and generosity despite all the money he makes crediting it toward a foundation that was started by him and his wife. In the acting industry, many virtues are used daily to support their image and prosperity. Instead of only focusing on just acting, he shows an appropriate desire to achieve more by many different roles and is well known for showing wittiness of act in his public life as a Philanthropist. CONCLUSION The contemporary public figure Will Smith illustrate virtues that are very close to the ones Aristotle presumes correct. His characteristics and ways...
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...OBrien Ethics Virtue Theory Virtue ethics is one theory that people use to make moral decisions. It does not rely on culture, society, or religion; it only depends on the individuals. Aristotle was the main philosopher of virtue theory which he introduced his theory in ancient Greek times. Aristotle was a great believer in virtues and the meaning of virtue to him meant being able to fulfill one's functions. Virtue ethics is not interested in the question “what should I do?” but rather in the question “what kind of person should I become?” It has more to do with the nature of what it is to be human and their character, than with the rights and wrongs of actions. Instead of concentrating on what is the right thing to do, virtue ethics asks how you can be a better person. Aristotle says that those who do lead a virtuous life are very happy and have sense of well-being. Happiness is the ultimate goal for everyone in life. Aristotle's definition of happiness is, “happiness is the activity of the soul in accord with perfect virtue”. To become a better person, we must practice virtuous acts regularly. After a while, these acts will become a habit and so the virtuous acts part of our everyday life and the person will be leading a virtuous life. For example, if a singer practices singing every day, they will become better at it and used to doing it. Practicing virtue theory is similar, but it is more of an exercise for the the mind. People who practice their virtues improve their skills...
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...Virtue is a habit involving choice related to a mean relative to the person. This is concerned with emotions and actions and aims for the median. There are excesses and deficiencies relative to the median, but to achieve virtue or excellence one’s actions have to be the median. To clarify, the median is feeling pleasure correctly in an act ordered in relation to a rational principle. First off, the mean of generosity needs to be explained. Aristotle best puts generosity into words as “the mean in giving and taking material goods,” (1120b27) Material goods are goods with a value measured by money. Wealth is certainly useful as money is necessary for life. Excellence in this mean consists in doing good and giving rather than having...
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...Enoch Olutayo Dr Kristin Rajan Engl 1102-222 6th September 2013 Courage is a virtue As a kid, I watched a lot of cartoons. Some were memorable and had an impact on my life, while some were not. One of the most memorable was a cartoon called ‘Courage the Cowardly Dog’. You can probably see from the title that this cartoon was very interesting. It has had a big impact on my philosophy as I have learnt life facts from watching it. I believe that I wouldn’t be the same person that I am today if I never came across it. I think it’s safe to say that as a kid, I did not know and understand a lot of things. The world to me was in black and white. You were either the good guy or the bad guy and when I watched TV, I always liked the good guys. This was how I felt when watching ‘Courage the Cowardly Dog’ but all that started to change as I grew up. This cartoon was about a dog named Courage that was adopted by a woman named Muriel. She found him abandoned on a trash can hungry and needing a diaper change. Her and her husband, Eustace, were on their way home when she saw him and immediately fell in love with him. Courage loved Muriel for being nice and loving, almost like a mother to him, so he always took care of her. As you can probably see from the title of the show, Courage’s name is a contradiction of his actual personality. He got frightened by almost anything and was always suspicious of people and activities that happened around him. They lived in the middle of nowhere, which...
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...The Identification and Categorization of Auditors' Virtues Author(s): Theresa Libby and Linda Thorne Source: Business Ethics Quarterly, Vol. 14, No. 3, Accounting Ethics (Jul., 2004), pp. 479-498 Published by: Philosophy Documentation Center Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/3857741 . Accessed: 08/02/2015 09:11 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org. . Philosophy Documentation Center is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Business Ethics Quarterly. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 176.24.148.150 on Sun, 8 Feb 2015 09:11:03 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions THEIDENTIFICATION CATEGORIZATION AND OF AUDITORS' VIRTUES Theresa LibbyandLinda Thorne paper, we develop a typology of auditors' virtues throughin-depth interviewswith nine exemplarsof the audit community.We comparethis typology with prescribed auditors'virtues as represented in the applicable Code of ProfessionalConduct.Our comparisonshows that the Cocleplaces a primary emphasis...
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...Vices and Virtues 1. What is vice? Vices are your bad or immoral habits. They are the little devil on your shoulder telling you to give into something that is considered to be wrong. Vices are usually represented by Dante Alighieri’s seven deadly sins. These include pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, and sloth. These seven deadly sins categorize the vices that people are faced with every day. 2. What is virtue? Virtues are the opposite of vices. They are the moral and good habits of people. There are numerous virtues that people show some of which include honesty, responsibility, compassion and many more. Virtues are the driving force behind making the right choice to not only better ourselves but also those around us. 3. How have your virtues changed since coming to Elizabethtown College? I do believe my virtues have changed for the better by coming to Etown. I have become a more compassionate person. In high school I wasn’t really one to get tied up in the issues of others, but here I have changed drastically. I have become more open to others on what issues they are facing and I try to do all that I can to make their situation better. I also believe I have become more self-aware of my life choices more in terms of healthiness. I make a lot of smarter food choices as well as athletic choices and try and get others to do the same. I’ve also become more responsible for my work. I remember in high school I tended to put off my work and studying...
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...In Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Golden Mean, he describes how virtue and vices relations to everyday life. The way he describes the value of virtue is that it lies between to extremes. The two extremes, excess and deficit, are determined by rational principal, and then applied to an individual's situation. Virtue as a state of character is a matter of how we stand with regard to the passions. Aristotle’s rule of the mean only works on an individual level, in other words it is not transferable the way it is in algebraic terms. The mean response to a situation would be found on the extremes of a personal experience as opposed to two different individuals opinions on a similar situation. This idea can be illustrated in two ways. If a college student is at a party and decides to drink they must decide how much to consume. An extreme would be drinking a dangerous amount and a deficit would be not drinking, the goal through Aristotle’s Doctrine of the Golden Mean is...
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