Topic: Applying my Ethical Theory

Thread: For Discussion Board Forum 3, you devised your own approach to metaethics. Now it is time to see how well it can be applied to actual issues. Your assignment for this week’s Discussion Board is to briefly remind us of your approach to metaethics (this should only take a few lines) and then apply this approach to one of the issues in applied ethics that were discussed in the reading assignments. These issues ranged from familial problems through pacifism, poverty, the environment, business ethics, healthcare, sexuality, and life and death. Pick whichever one interests you most and in 500-600 words apply your metaethical theory to some aspect of the issue that was discussed in the reading in order to demonstrate what the moral approach to the issue is.

Be sure to carefully define your terms. You are encouraged to support your position with rational arguments, fitting examples, and expert sources. Any quotes or information used from sources other than yourself must be cited using footnotes in current Turabian format and will not count towards the total word count.

You will be penalized for falling short or exceeding the word count. This is a university-level writing assignment and therefore it must be carefully proofread, free of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Do not use slang, emoticons, or abbreviations (as if you are texting or sending an email to a friend).

Submit your thread by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Thursday of Module/Week 7.

Reply: After reading your classmates’ threads, choose one to which you will respond, then write a reply that interacts with your classmate’s thread and presents a well-reasoned alternative to your classmate’s approach to the issue. You do not have to defend a position that is diametrically opposed to your classmate’s position, but you do need to critically evaluate your classmate’s position in a way that points out strengths and possible weaknesses.

The goal of this is to help your classmate to improve his or her ability to logically and consistently apply his or her metaethical theory to an issue in applied ethics. Hence you should make your criticisms constructive. Be charitable – don’t assume that your classmate is making stupid mistakes, but instead where multiple interpretations are possible, assume that you classmate meant whichever interpretation would make more sense. However, don’t hesitate to point out disputable assumptions, faulty arguments, and alternative possibilities if you are convinced that they exist. In short, criticize politely. If possible, you must reply to a classmate to whom no one else has yet replied. Treat your classmate’s opinion with sensitivity and respect.

This is a university-level writing assignment. Therefore it must be carefully proofread, free of grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors. Do not use slang, emoticons, or abbreviations (as if you are texting or sending an email to a friend).

Your reply must be 500–600 words. You will be penalized for falling short or exceeding the word count. Any quotes or information used from sources other than yourself (including your classmate’s thread) must be cited using footnotes in current Turabian and will not count towards the total word count.

Submit your reply by 11:59 p.m. (ET) on Monday of Module/Week 7.

Please read my discussion to have a idea on what i wrote last week 

1

ETHICAL THEORY DISCUSSION

Lennis Yesenia Ortega

Ethics 101

Feb 11, 2020

There are several different philosophies of moral and ethical frameworks. These include metaethics, virtue ethics, natural law ethics, utilitarianism and duty ethics among many others. Among these, virtue ethics is the most rational moral theory because it does not split reasons and motives, and because it leads to happiness or eudemonia.

Virtue ethics stresses the importance of virtues and individual character in assessing the justness of actions. The theory is often compared to other theories such as consequentialism, which highlights the importance of consequences in determining the permissibility of various actions
. In virtue ethics, an action is morally good if that is what a virtuous person would do. . These virtues include aspects of humanity like generosity, honesty, kindness and love among others, as opposed to vices like selfishness, cruelty, and dishonesty. Therefore, the goodness of an action is dependent on the virtue behind the act, the person doing it and their character

Another reason why virtue ethics is the best approach to morality is because it does not split reasons and motives.
The splitting of motives and reason has been dubbed as moral schizophrenia whereby there is a conflict between personal motives and the reasoning behind them. Such a problem is witnessed in other philosophies such as deontology and consequentialism since they require people to do the right thing regardless of their motives. Under this philosophy, an individual’s reasoning must be followed even when it conflicts with their own motives. It is more difficult to achieve a happy life when using other philosophies as opposed to virtue ethics. Life becomes fulfilling when a person’s duty is aligned with virtue.. Therefore, virtue ethics leads to greater happiness because it teaches virtue to be desirable as opposed to obligatory.

Virtue ethics also leads to the achievement of eudemonia, which is happiness or flourishing. Living a virtuous life is needed for one to achieve happiness or eudaimonia
. When humans devote themselves to wealth and physical pleasure, they do not achieve real happiness but end up living a wasted, hedonistic life. However, those who live in virtue live a happy and fulfilling life, even being compelled to face personal risk for a worthwhile cause
. This could potentially be observed in today’s culture where celebrities who seek pleasure above all else often end up failing miserably in life. Some end up on drugs while others commit suicide after they fail to find meaning. However, celebrities who live a virtuous life, which could include generosity or being charitable, end up living content and happy. If eudemonia is to be seen as the ultimate goal, virtue ethics seems to be an effective means of reaching it.

In conclusion, the best philosophy that should be used in judging whether something is morally good or not is virtue ethics. The ideology stands above other moral theories because it does not split reasons and motives and also because it prioritizes happiness.

Bibliography

Duffy, John. “The good writer: Virtue ethics and the teaching of writing.” College English 79, no. 3 (2017): 229-250.

Han, Hyemin. “Virtue ethics, positive psychology, and a new model of science and engineering ethics education.” Science and Engineering Ethics 21, no. 2 (2015): 441-460.

Stanford University. “Virtue ethics.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2016.

� Han, Hyemin. “Virtue ethics, positive psychology, and a new model of science and engineering ethics education.” Science and Engineering Ethics 21, no. 2 (2015): 441-460.

� Ibid Han pg. 463.

� Duffy, John. “The good writer: Virtue ethics and the teaching of writing.” College English 79, no. 3 (2017): 229-250.

� Stanford University. “Virtue ethics.” Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2016.