Building a Moral compass
pdf
keyboard_arrow_up
School
Southern New Hampshire University *
*We aren’t endorsed by this school
Course
200
Subject
Philosophy
Date
Jun 1, 2024
Type
Pages
4
Uploaded by morgan2coco14
1
Week 3: Building a Moral Compass Paper Assignment
Moral Compass: Virtue Ethics American Public University
Phil 200: Intro to Ethics
Morgan Sasseville March 20th, 2024
Word Count: 772
2
Week 3: Building a Moral Compass Paper Assignment
Part I- Identify a Normative Ethical Theory
The Normative plan I would like to learn more about this class is Virtue Ethics. Virtue Ethics really spoke to me more than the other theories. This is because I would like to learn more about Virtue Ethics so that I can help guide myself into becoming a more virtuous person. Virtue Ethics puts emphasis on oneself as a good person. (Giles 28) Virtue Ethics is the theory that conducts oneself towards character rather than the repercussions and rules. “It is not that following rules is not important; it is more the sense that being ethical means more than simply following rules.” (Giles 28) Virtue Ethics guards this standpoint by believing that these righteous acts are circumstantial. With that being said there are many different versions of Virtue Ethics. Some of these would be Aristotle, Aquinas, and Buddhist.
I would first like to talk about Aristotle’s thoughts and theories. Aristotle’s theory conveys the impression that it is the natural and proper function of human beings to feel Eudaimonia. Eudaimonia means human flourishing and/or happiness. (Gales 29) Aristotle believed in order to achieve this, you need to develop into a virtuous perso. You aren't going to be born being a virtuous person. He believed that you need to experience challenges in your life that end up leading you into the path of becoming a virtuous person. Secondly I would like to bring up Buddhist Virtue Ethics. Buddhist Virtue Ethics is a spiritual and philosophical tradition. (Giles 33) The belief of karma was heavily stated and is believed to be a natural phenomenon. “The law of karma says that thoughts and actions that intend to benefit others will eventually cause harm to ourselves and that thoughts and actions that intend to benefit others will eventually benefit us” (Giles 33-34) This ties in with the belief of
3
reincarnation because the “eventually” could further mean in future life. Buddhism is not just a preference, it is a lifestyle. Third, and finally, I would like to discuss Aquinas’s Christian type of Virtue ethics. Aquinas’s version was shaped by Aristotle’s thoughts and theories on the topic. Both their versions are alike but different because of religion. Aquinas and Aristotle both had similar ethical understanding when it came to virtue. However, Aquinas disagreed with Aristotle when it came to the end of life. Aquinas believed that the end of life was not found in this world. He believed the end of life is to be “perfected through union with God.” (Giles 32) As a result of Aquinas and Aristotle differences in the theory, The Natural Law theory was created. Part II- Apply your chosen Normative Ethical Theory to an Ethical Dilemma The Ethical Dilemma I decided to Identify is the end of statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases. The end of statute of limitations for child sexual abuse cases were cross-
examined when the allegations of sexual abuse in the Catholic Churches came out. In most states the laws set in place for statute of limitations for sexual assault only gives you 3-10 years to report. However, most victims are ashamed and afraid to speak up even as adults. It could take a victim years before they are ready to relive the trauma. With that being said, all of the victims involved in the Catholic Church scandal were children. Since most of the victims were children and did not speak out until they were adults, 2 out of 300 priests were able to be prosecuted for their crimes. The main parties involved in the dilemma are the children who have dealt with being sexually assaulted and not being able to speak on the issue as their time for reporting ran out. Virtue Ethics puts emphasis on the well being and happiness of humans. I believe the ethical resolution for this situation would be to get rid of the statute of limitations for child sexual assault cases. I believe the end result would be praiseworthy because most people find child
Your preview ends here
Eager to read complete document? Join bartleby learn and gain access to the full version
- Access to all documents
- Unlimited textbook solutions
- 24/7 expert homework help
4
sexual assault cases terrible. It gives the victim justice. If you get rid of the statute of limitations it says to the abusers that it will haunt them and someday they will be jailed for their heinous crimes. Works Cited
Giles, Douglas. “How Can I Be a Better Person? On Virtue Ethics”. Introduction to Philosophy: Ethics
. George Mathews ed. Rebus OER Publishing, 2022. [PDF file] 28-37.