Week 4 Disc 2 Final
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Apr 3, 2024
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Class,
For my historical example that illustrates the success and failure of exercising virtue, I will discuss General George S. Patton. General Patton commanded the 7
th
and 3
rd
United States armies during WWII. He led the invasion of Sicily and led the 3
rd
Army across France (Biography, 2023). He was known as 'Old Blood and Guts". He was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for bravery (Britannica, 2023). General
Patton was known for his cunning armored tactics and his aggressiveness in battle. He did not back down from fights, displayed fearlessness, and expected the same from people under his command. General Patton once told his wife, " when he was not attacking the enemy, he would get bilious" (bad-
tempered). He had to be told by the supreme commander of the allied army, General Eisenhower, to halt his forces because he moved so swiftly through France that he was poised to take Berlin before the Russians could make it to the city. The Russians taking Berlin was a political move (but that is for a different class entirely).
The virtue that General Patton most often displayed was courage. General Patton displayed the virtue of
courage in many ways. In 1917 he braved gunfire and personally shot the Mexican Army leader Julio Cardenas during the Mexican-American war. He was always near the front lines with his men and was quoted saying, "A piece of spaghetti or a military unit can only be led from the front end ."His daring military strategies showed great courage and were unconventional at the time. General Patton, sometimes to his detriment, showed courage in his words to his men and his leaders.
General Patton lacked the Aristotelian virtue of compassion. He thought everyone was or should be as brave as him and had no room for anything else; this led him to have a deficiency of this virtue, making him morally callous (Pelt, Slide 62, 2002). This lack of compassion almost ruined his career. After the successful invasion of Sicily, General Patton toured the field hospitals visiting his wounded men. When General Patton arrived at the 15th Evacuation Field Hospital, he encountered one of his soldiers in the hospital with no apparent injuries. General Patton asked the soldier why he was there, and the soldier said he had battle fatigue and "just could not take it ."As the hospital staff looked on, General Patton pulled the soldier to his feet, called him a coward, and slapped him across the face (MHN, 2019). He later journaled the event in his diary and described the soldier as a weakling. General Patton was unable to recognize the suffering of others (Pelt, Slide 64, 2002). The virtue of compassion is just part of what Aristotelian theory defines as a person of good character. Aristotle had five main virtues, courage, compassion, self-love, friendship, and forgiveness (Baddarveski & Tasev, 2001). These virtues are linked and none of them can be at it fullest potential without the others.
-Barry
References
A&E Networks Television. (2021, March 31). George Patton
. Biography.com. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.biography.com/military-figures/george-patton
Bobi Badarevski, & Saše Tasev. (2001). The Ethics of Diversity. Towards Lawrence M. Hinman, Ethics: A Pluralistic Approach to Moral Theory. Identities, 1(1).
Lovelace, A. (2023). George Patton
. Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://www.britannica.com/biography/George-Smith-Patton Smack Down – how the 'Patton slapping incident' nearly cost America one of its greatest generals. MilitaryHistoryNow.com. (2021, July 28). Retrieved February 16, 2023, from https://militaryhistorynow.com/2019/03/19/smack-down-how-the-patton-slapping-
incident-nearly-cost-america-one-of-its-greatest-generals-2/
Matthew,
I think he was a flawed person, much like most of us are. He was a man of extremes that did not have a balance in his character that Aristotle discusses. I agree, he saved countless lives with his bold armored tactics in WWII. A utilitarian would find little issue in his actions. His lack of compassion caused pain to some, but his victories brought the allies to Hitler’s doorstep, which is a huge positive for the entire world.
-Barry
Laftifah,
What does SHAPE stand for if you do not mind me asking? Also is that organization only helping people in Turkey. Because of the ongoing conflict is aid being withheld from Syrians or Kurdish people? I am not trying to be negative but trying to expand to see if the people or organization is lacking in virtue? Side note, how do we know people are working in this organization purely because they are generous? Could people be helped because of ego or pride or another less virtuous motive?
What virtue theory is SHAPE demonstrating in its charity to Turkey? At first glance it appears to
be Aristotelian virtue ethics.
-Barry
Samantha,
Thank you for your post. I can tell this is a passionate issue for you and it should be for most American's. I am a military police officer. I do not operate at the level of a civilian police officer,
nor do I have the level of interaction with the public that they do. My job, like many others is a sampling of many different communities, cultures, races, religious within the United Sates. We come across great cops, bad cops, and everything in between. They aren't generally special and are just "people" like you and me. I would say from my perspective that most people are virtuous
and display a balance with their Aristotle's cardinal virtues; courage, temperance, justice, and practical wisdom (Thames, Chapter 5, 2018). I think trouble arises when behaviors are learned and become habitual that leads people to consider themselves superior or other less than themselves. I view this as a direct result of police officers ethical role models allowing these behaviors to grown unchecked. (Pelt, Slide 48, 2002). Work must be done through sound ethical role models and training police officers to make the right decisions at the right time, in the right way, in the right frame of mind, and for the right reasons (Pelt, Slide 41, 2002). If this can be instilled nationwide, the outliers (unethical people who should not be police officers) could be weeded out and removed. I agree there are ethical issues that need to be addressed in law enforcement, but the vast majority are virtuous people trying to help their communities. What we
see on the news is absolutely unacceptable, but a small portion of the men and women who work
in law enforcement.
-Barry
References
Pelt, M. (2002). The Nicomachean Ethics
Thames, B. (2018). How should one live? An introduction to ethics and moral reasoning. Bridgepoint Education.
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Latifah,
Thank you for the information, I really appreciate it. I have worked with NATO partners, but not in that capacity. I have also worked with many countries not in NATO helping them to train and operate more like the United States military. This helped to build stronger ties and alliances with non-NATO partners. I guess that was where my thought process was going. Can we be truly generous if we are only helping people in NATO that are affected by the Earthquake? A report I read said that organizations wanting to provide help were not being allowed to use border crossing by Turkey (Reuters, 2023). In a way a NATO member is limiting the generosity of others that want to help in Syria. Do you think aid actions are being performed with Arèté? Is Syria not being helped to the degree Turkey is because it is Syria and is that ethical through the lens of Aristotelian virtue ethics?
-Barry