Virtue Ethics | Ethics Defined — Transcript

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1. 0:05Virtue Ethics
2. 0:07Virtue ethics is a philosophy developed by Aristotle and other ancient Greeks.
3. 0:13It is the quest to understand and live a life of moral character.
4. 0:18This character-based approach to morality assumes that we acquire virtue through practice.
5. 0:23By practicing being honest, brave, just, generous, and so on,
6. 0:28a person develops an honorable and moral character.
7. 0:32According to Aristotle, by honing virtuous habits,
8. 0:35people will likely make the right choice when faced with ethical challenges.
9. 0:41To illustrate the difference among three key moral philosophies,
10. 0:44ethicists Mark White and Robert Arp refer to the film The Dark Knight where Batman has
11. 0:49the opportunity to kill the Joker.
12. 0:53Utilitarians, White and Arp suggest, would endorse killing the Joker.
13. 0:58By taking this one life, Batman could save multitudes.
14. 1:02Deontologists, on the other hand, would reject killing the Joker simply because it’s wrong to kill.
15. 1:09But a virtue ethicist “would highlight the character of the person who kills the Joker.
16. 1:14Does Batman want to be the kind of person who takes his enemies’ lives?”
17. 1:18No, in fact, he doesn’t.
18. 1:22So, virtue ethics helps us understand what it means to be a virtuous human being.
19. 1:27And, it gives us a guide for living life without giving us specific rules for resolving ethical dilemmas.