Virtue Ethics and Justice Flashcards
‘Vices’ definition:
Undesirable character traits that become imbedded in an individual’s life through the indulgence of degrading appetites, lack of self-discipline and education, and the habitual practice of immoral conduct.
‘Virtue’ definition:
“Human excellence” and consistent of those traits of character that should be fostered in human beings, such as honesty, loyalty, courage, wisdom, moderation, civility, compassion, tolerance, and reverence.
Virtue Ethics:
Virtue ethics places the emphasis on the character of the person doing the action, rather than on their actions, consequences, feelings, or rules: the person is good.
Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics
The end/purpose of human life is happiness, and reason is the basic activity of humans. Therefore, the aim of human beings is to reason well in order to achieve a complete life
Virtue: The Golden Mean – the mean (i.e. halfway point) between two extremes – excess and deficiency. For example: modesty is the mean between bashfulness and shamlessness.
Confucian Moral Self-Cultivation:
In a Confucian world, one’s identity is, at all times, tied to the group and one’s relationships within the social order. Virtue is the inherent power or tendency to affect others in a positive, dramatic, and powerful way for good. The Confucian virtues thus are decidedly social in nature.
Reciprocity- The five Confucian cardinal relationships: Ruler/Subject; Father/Son; Husband/Wife; Elder brother/Younger brother; Friend/Friend.
Not to do to others as you would not wish done to yourself.
Participate in your community.
Advantages of Virtue Ethics:
- Strives to create good human beings.
- Attempts to unify reason and emotion.
- It emphasises moderation, a quality prized by many ethicits.
Disadvantages of Virtue Ethics:
*Do humans have a purpose/end? If so, what is it, and how can we prove any of it?
Are morals naturally implanted or are they learned through experience?
What is a virtue? How do we decide what a virtue is?
John Rawls’ Theory of Justice
In a just society, humans are given rights that are developed behind a “veil of ignorance”. It is an exercise on perspective which considers the effects of rights on all populations.
Retributive Punishment:
Punishment should be given only when it is deserved and proportional to transgression. The focus is on the past.
Critiques of Retributive Punishment:
- Difficult to determine what people deserve.
- Difficult to utilise mercy in this theory.
- Difficult to determine the seriousness of offences and punishment.
Utilitarian Punishment:
Future-oriented; it looks forward to the results and consequences that might conceivably accrue from punishing someone.
Punishment aims for the good of society. For example: will they be rehabilitated, will people be protected, will future crime be deterred?
Critiques of Utilitarian Punishment:
- Utilitarian theory is that it doesn’t concern itself with the justice of punishment, but rather only with its utility and with social engineering.
- Crimes of passion: the perpetrators may never commit them again; so why punish them?
Restitution Justice Theory:
Justice is served only if victims are granted restitution for the crimes committed against them.
For the retributivist, it considers both the deserts of the criminal and the victim and may provide a more meaningful punishment, helping the retributivist to avoid the criticism of seeking punishment for punishment’s sake.
The utilitarian may see restitution as being more useful and bringing about more good consequences, to both the criminal and the victim.
Critiques of Restitution:
- There is really no restitution for such crimes as murder, rape, or child molestation.
- Restitution in monetary form will be uneven for rich and poor criminals and for their victims as well.
- If criminals are old or sick, how can they compensate victims?
- The most serious problem is that restitution does not distinguish between intentional and unintentional injury or harm—this is actually a problem with all three theories
