Week 4 Discussion Post 1 and 2 PHI208

Week 4 Discussion Post 1 Due 2/1 Good afternoon , 1. Engage with the text :   I chose the following quote: “Every   virtue   or   excellence   both   brings   into   good   condition   the   thing   of   which   it   is   the   excellence   and   makes   the   work   of   that   thing   be   done   well   .   .   .   Therefore,   if   this   is   true   in   every   case,   the   virtue   of   man   also   will   be   the   state   of   character   which   makes   a   man   good   and   which   makes   him   do   his   own   work   well.   (1106a)” Virtue is focused on the person’s habitual choices in their living, interacting with people, and when making on-the-spot choices for certain situations. If a person is living virtuously, they are considered to be living well. Some of the virtue characteristics described in section 5.4 of the text are Honesty, love, friendliness, courage, and more, which are needed as just a member of the community. You want to be known for living well. 2. Reflect on yourself:   Identify an area of  your  life in which virtues are needed to do well. Explain what the “telos” of that role or activity is, what virtues are needed and why they are needed, and what would be lost if someone tried to be successful in that activity who didn’t exercise the virtues. This might be a role you have, a vocation or career, a hobby, or something common to all of us. I believe virtues are needed to do well in every area of my life. But I will focus on the telos as a mother.  Compassion- As a mother, I need continuous compassion; I need to recognize when my child is going through something, be sympathetic to the issue, and be willing to help when needed.  LOVE- Show love in the way of living, not just what I can do or tangibly supply my son.  Forgiveness abilities: Be able to give forgiveness and show my child how to forgive himself if he missteps as well as others.  Perseverance: Be patient to show my son not everything happens overnight, but also be patient with him as he continues to grow into the man God has willed for him.  Teaching ability: I need to be able to teach my son, through continued practice, how to live virtuously. Virtuous living requires practice.  Learner : I must continue learning and adopting changes to support my son. As a mother, if I tried to live without any of these virtues I listed above and more, it could result in me not living a good human life as a mother. I would not have lived a truly flourishing life as

a mother. My goal as a mother(telos) is to perform well in the activities listed above to raise and help my son build the virtues that will carry him through life. I am to be that good role model, which, as a parent, I should be. 3. Reflect on virtue :   Looking at what is happening today, I see humans have too little/no respect for harm and danger. In today’s world, you see people nearly running into danger, putting themselves in dangerous situations to provide social media footage, jumping out of their cars on the freeway to express frustrations, and not demonstrating virtuous characteristics of courageousness but recklessness to the extreme. 4. Compare/Contrast with other theories:    Aristotle's theory is that it is not what you do but who you are based on your habitual choices that determine your living well.  Mills believes that your ethics are based on the choices/actions you make/take that are right or wrong.  Deontology focuses on what duties or rights I must respect or have. There is not one theory that would best fit various ethical dilemmas. But as a foundation, I would start with understanding Kant’s Deontology theories, which focus on self-action, considering act/do and treating others only as you would see as the action becoming universal. With this duty, see one also building characteristics of virtues. I see the theories all working in a complementary capacity in the world. References: Aristotle. (1931). Nicomachean ethics. (W. D. Ross, Trans.). Retrieved from http://classics.mit.edu/Aristotle/nicomachaen.htmlLinks to an external site. Thames, B. (2018). How should one live? Introduction to ethics and moral reasoning (3rd ed.). San Diego, CA: Bridgepoint Education 1 st Reply to discussion 1 Hello Omar, You did an outstanding job on your post. I want to address the question you posed to us. I can say not having the right balance (the Golden Mean) in any of the virtues listed could impact one negatively. I will take empathy, for example, I have seen prominent individuals show too much empathy to inmates in prison, leading them to take on actions that are wrong, such as bringing inmates items; too much empathy impacted their judgment, costing them their careers altogether.

happening. This is where I see virtue theory come into play for him; it was now about how one lives over what one does and how other cultures prepare their bodies for living the characteristics of a virtuous person. That was a great ending to where I stopped, as I feel the same way. When I started, I thought I was more on the conservative side. I see that I am more in the middle than ever. We must be balanced and focused on the situation to determine which theory we will apply during any given situation. Thank you, Simonee In response to your friend’s statement, you could consider something like this: Thank you, Professor Wise for sharing your response! Yes, you are correct, I know Haidt acknowledges the role of social construction in shaping our views and beliefs, but he also recognizes the importance of empirical evidence and objective reality. I agree that all the different approaches with both Haidt and Peterson contribute to our understanding. To think about how different thinkers approach social constructivism. Jonathan Haidt, known for his work on moral psychology, might indeed emphasize the role of social constructs in shaping our I beliefs and behaviors. On the other hand, Jordan Peterson tends to take a more cautious stance, emphasizing both biological and cultural factors. It’s a nuanced discussion, and I appreciate your insights!” 🤔🤔 Feel free to adapt this response to your own style and context! 😊