Question/Prompt: Summarize either Virtue Ethics or the Ethics of Care.
My answer/response: Simply defined virtue is “the quality of a thing which enables it to perform its’ function well”. Taken a step further, moral virtue is “a settled and lasting disposition of character to act in excellent and praiseworthy ways, cultivated over time through habit.” In addition it is important to know that character is “the enduring state of ones person moral identity”.
Dr. Clifton-Soderstrom went through different aspects of virtue theory. It is not a new idea although there are modern applications. To understand virtue ethics more completely it is important to have an understanding of how it has been described in the past and how it is applied and carried out today. Dr. Clifton-Soderstrom began his summary by describing the “Spheres of the Moral Life”. These spheres included; forming the moral conscious, making moral decisions and forming moral identity.
The situations which virtue ethics apply to have changed since its origins in ancient Greece. Virtue ethics in Ancient Greece was founded in human nature. The virtue ethics fell into the following categories: Eudemonia – human flourishing, Ethos – character, Arête – virtue, excellence AND Ethos – habituation.
The main question that is being asked in trying to figure out a lifestyle by which to live is “What is the best possible life for all human beings?” This question is quickly followed by “What does the life of one who is truly, and deeply, happy look like?”
A virtue ethicist would argue that a life of virtue would result in a life that was truly and deeply happy. To know what happiness is we can look to the wisdom of both an ancient and modern philosopher. “Happiness is some kind of activity of the soul in conformity with virtue.” (Aristotle). Stanley Hauerwas would say “Happiness is not so much the end, but the way.”
These quotes give excellent insight into what a truly happy life would be like. But these quotes are based on a set of virtues that should be carried out in everyday life. The following list of virtues are things that should be found in a person who is living a happy life: wisdom, courage, compassion, humility, purity, patience, faith, prudence, justice, mercy, simplicity, gentleness, piety, hope, temperance, generosity, gratitude, tolerance, humor, loyalty, love. (virtues in italics are associated with Greek thought, words in bold are associated with Christian thought).
It would drive you crazy trying to remember to do each of these things everyday through your typical routines. These virtues come about as a result of practice as was stated earlier moral virtue is “a settled and lasting disposition of character to act in excellent and praiseworthy ways, cultivated over time through habit.” This is what someone who desires to be happy should strive after.
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