Virtue Ethics

• Behavior showing high moral standards
• A quality considered morally good or desirable in a
person
• The good result that comes from something
• the branch of knowledge that deals with moral
principles
• a set of moral principles, especially ones relating to
or affirming a specified group, field, or form of
conduct.

Ethics consist of 3 Approaches, namely: Meta Ethics, Applied Ethics and Normative Ethics

Meta Ethics does not address how we ought to behave; rather, meta-ethics is related more to the study of ethical theory itself

 looks at the scope and foundation of moral values and moral properties
 focuses on what morality is
 seek to give us framework for ethics and tell us how we ought to live

Applied Ethics describes how we apply normative theories to specific issues, usually related to work or belonging to an
organization

 seeks to apply normative ethical theories to specific issues

 concerned with how ethics is applied strategically on certain issues

Normative Ethics tell us not only what we ought to do, but also why we do things that in some instances may appear
counterintuitive to what we think an ethical decision would be

To furher explain, the relationship of this three using analogy of football:

1. Players can be thought as the Applied Ethics. Their concern is a specific strategy to get the ball into the net.
Just like Applied Ethics, it is concerned with how ethics is applied strategically on certain issues.
2. Referee can be seen as the Normative Ethics. Their concern is to guide the players in playing with the use of rules.
Normative ethics is concerned with underlying principles which guide the applied ethicist.
3. Analysts can be thought as the Meta Ethics. They do not apply or interpret the rules, rather they try to understand what is
going on in the game itself.
In meta ethics, it looks at the work of ethics and tries to make sense of everything that is going on.

Moving on. Under normative ethics, we have 3 Branches

Consequentialism is an ethical theory that judges whether something is right by what its consequences are.

Utilitarianism an ethical theory that determines right from wrong by focusing on outcomes.

 As what we have seen in the video earlier, Batman kills Joker in order to save more lives.
 It is a utilitarianism ethics because he made an action by considering that consequence of his action is positive or correct

Deontology is an ethical theory that uses rules to distinguish right from wrong.

 In the video, Batman refuses to kill Joker because killing is disobeying the law
 It is a Deontology because a certain rule was considered before doing an action. If an action doesn’t violate a law or rule,
then it is considered right.

Virtue Ethics is an ethical theory that focuses on the character of the person rather than the details of a single action

 The video shows that the character of Batman who killed Joker would be highlighted. He is not the kind of person who
wants to kill, but he still killed him because it was the right thing to do.
 It is under Virtue Ethics, it shows how a virtuous human being should be by having more than a habit example is generosity.
Rather, it means having a fundamental set of related virtues that enable a person to live and act morally well.
To further discuss Virtue Ethics; it is

• the oldest ethical theory in the world, the origin is in Ancient Greece.

• (1) character-based ethics

• (2) deals not only with the rightness or wrongness of individual actions, it provides guidance as to the sort of
characteristics and behaviors a good person will seek to achieve.

• (3) It is an approach to ethics that emphasizes an individual's character as the key element of ethical thinking, rather than
rules about the acts themselves or their consequences.

1. a broad term for theories that emphasize the role of character and virtue in moral philosophy. A right act is the action a
virtuous person would do in the same circumstances
2. based on ethical theories place less emphasis on which rules people should follow and instead focus on helping people
develop good character traits, such as kindness and generosity. These character traits will, in turn, allow a person to make
the correct decisions later in life.
3. In that way, virtue ethics is concerned with the whole of a person's life, rather than episodes or actions.

Summary

• Virtue ethics is a moral theory that emphasizes the role of an individual's character and virtues in evaluating the
rightness of actions.

• Virtue ethics is the rival of consequentialism and deontology.

• Virtue ethics provide enough guidance as what a good person would be.

• virtue ethics is focused on character rather than on specific actions.

• Virtue ethics also strongly emphasizes that individuals can be trained in the virtues so that they develop excellent habits
of mind.

• Virtue ethics mainly deals with the honesty and morality of a person. It guides a person without specific rules for
resolving the ethical complexity.

• Virtue ethics shows that goodness is prior to rightness

 Reed Christian

Group1 Group3

Arlene Romeo

Margarita Jorie

Group2 Group4

Melisa Gernalyn

Donna

Group5

Joseph