Name Sumera Shafi

Subject Ethics
Date 4/15/2021
Submmittrf to Sir Daniyal Hassan
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What is virtue ethics? What are some

problems with virtue ethics?
What is virtue ethics?
Virtue ethics is a normative ethical theory theory which places less emphasis on the rules and
regulations that people follow and focuses more on developing character traits which will help them to
make ethical decision. “Virtue ethics describes the philosophical approach to the questions of morality”
The basic question of virtue ethics for a person is how should I live? These character traits are developed
with time through experience and learning as people are not born with these traits. There is a long list of
character traits that a person can develop to take right decisions such as Plato discussed the four key
virtues which are courage, wisdom, justice and temperance. Other than experience virtues can be
developed from self-reflection and the feedback that comes from ones behaviour. Virtues are very
important as they give a person an identity on which people judge that person or give him the title of
good or bad. Virtue doesn’t only focus on developing goof traits but also on eliminating the traits that
are immoral and unethical. For example a person has the habit of not keeping secrets, his friends tell
him that it is not a good thing and also realises himself so with time he changes himself and develops
this trait.

Problems of virtue ethics

Sometimes the virtue traits are in conflict for example friendship and justice. As everyone has their own
definition of what is virtuous and what is not so the two virtue characteristics within a person can be in
conflict. An example is of an office colleague who is your good friends, you got to know that he going to
be fired in sometime but you are not supposed to tell him as you are directed .Now it depends on the
person on what virtue he thinks is important for him. If everyone starts to adopt the virtue ethics and
ignore the rules and regulation there may be conflict in the society. Virtue ethics may cover some broad
characteristics that a person might possess but it doesn’t always give solution to every problem.It is also
considered to be selfish sometimes for example everyone knows we shouldn’t lie , a person might put
someone in danger to protect himself. Virtue ethics is not action guiding as it tends to focus more on
what is morality rather than what is moral so it can be hard to implement in the society