Virtue Ethics

by | Nov 3, 2024 | ethics

 

Scenario

Identify and explain one scenario in which someone breaks a promise. (Respond in your own words; you are not required to cite a resource for reactiothis response. Recommended response length is 1-3 sentences.)

Virtue Ethics (You are required to cite a resource from Units 2, 3, and 4 readings and presentations for these responses.)
Identify what a virtue ethicist will say is morally right or wrong to do in the example of breaking a promise you provided. Should you break the promise from a virtue ethics perspective? (1-2 sentence response recommended)
Explain what reasoning a follower of virtue ethics would use to determine the right thing to do based on that system’s core principles (e.g., telos, virtue, and eudaimonia). (4-6 sentence response recommended
3. Kantian Ethics (You are required to cite a resource from Units 2, 3, and 4 readings and presentations for these responses.)

Identify what a Kantian ethicist will say is morally right or wrong to do in the example of breaking a promise you provided. Should you break the promise from a Kantian ethics perspective? (1-2 sentence response recommended)
Explain what reasoning a follower of Kantian would use to determine the right thing to do based on that system’s core principles (e.g., goodwill, duty, impartiality, and reciprocity). (4-6 sentence response recommended)
4. Utilitarian Ethics (You are required to cite a resource from Units 2, 3, and 4 readings and presentations for these responses.)

Identify what a utilitarian will say is morally right or wrong to do in the example of breaking a promise you provided. Should you break the promise from a utilitarian perspective? (1-2 sentence response recommended)
Explain what reasoning a follower of utilitarian ethics would use to determine the right thing to do based on that system’s core principles (e.g., welfarism, impartiality, sum-ranking, consequentialism). (4-6 sentence response recommended)

Sample solution

Dante Alighieri played a critical role in the literature world through his poem Divine Comedy that was written in the 14th century. The poem contains Inferno, Purgatorio, and Paradiso. The Inferno is a description of the nine circles of torment that are found on the earth. It depicts the realms of the people that have gone against the spiritual values and who, instead, have chosen bestial appetite, violence, or fraud and malice. The nine circles of hell are limbo, lust, gluttony, greed and wrath. Others are heresy, violence, fraud, and treachery. The purpose of this paper is to examine the Dante’s Inferno in the perspective of its portrayal of God’s image and the justification of hell. 

In this epic poem, God is portrayed as a super being guilty of multiple weaknesses including being egotistic, unjust, and hypocritical. Dante, in this poem, depicts God as being more human than divine by challenging God’s omnipotence. Additionally, the manner in which Dante describes Hell is in full contradiction to the morals of God as written in the Bible. When god arranges Hell to flatter Himself, He commits egotism, a sin that is common among human beings (Cheney, 2016). The weakness is depicted in Limbo and on the Gate of Hell where, for instance, God sends those who do not worship Him to Hell. This implies that failure to worship Him is a sin.


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God is also depicted as lacking justice in His actions thus removing the godly image. The injustice is portrayed by the manner in which the sodomites and opportunists are treated. The opportunists are subjected to banner chasing in their lives after death followed by being stung by insects and maggots. They are known to having done neither good nor bad during their lifetimes and, therefore, justice could have demanded that they be granted a neutral punishment having lived a neutral life. The sodomites are also punished unfairly by God when Brunetto Lattini is condemned to hell despite being a good leader (Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). While he commited sodomy, God chooses to ignore all the other good deeds that Brunetto did.

Finally, God is also portrayed as being hypocritical in His actions, a sin that further diminishes His godliness and makes Him more human. A case in point is when God condemns the sin of egotism and goes ahead to commit it repeatedly. Proverbs 29:23 states that “arrogance will bring your downfall, but if you are humble, you will be respected.” When Slattery condemns Dante’s human state as being weak, doubtful, and limited, he is proving God’s hypocrisy because He is also human (Verdicchio, 2015). The actions of God in Hell as portrayed by Dante are inconsistent with the Biblical literature. Both Dante and God are prone to making mistakes, something common among human beings thus making God more human.

To wrap it up, Dante portrays God is more human since He commits the same sins that humans commit: egotism, hypocrisy, and injustice. Hell is justified as being a destination for victims of the mistakes committed by God. The Hell is presented as being a totally different place as compared to what is written about it in the Bible. As a result, reading through the text gives an image of God who is prone to the very mistakes common to humans thus ripping Him off His lofty status of divine and, instead, making Him a mere human. Whether or not Dante did it intentionally is subject to debate but one thing is clear in the poem: the misconstrued notion of God is revealed to future generations.

 

References

Babor, T. F., McGovern, T., & Robaina, K. (2017). Dante’s inferno: Seven deadly sins in scientific publishing and how to avoid them. Addiction Science: A Guide for the Perplexed, 267.

Cheney, L. D. G. (2016). Illustrations for Dante’s Inferno: A Comparative Study of Sandro Botticelli, Giovanni Stradano, and Federico Zuccaro. Cultural and Religious Studies, 4(8), 487.

Verdicchio, M. (2015). Irony and Desire in Dante’s” Inferno” 27. Italica, 285-297.

Scenario:

A friend promises to help you move on Saturday. However, on Friday, they get a last-minute opportunity for a paid gig that will significantly help their finances. They call you to say they can’t help you move after all.

Ethical Perspectives

1. Virtue Ethics

  • Moral Right/Wrong: A virtue ethicist would likely see breaking the promise as morally wrong, as it goes against the virtue of trustworthiness.

  • Should you break the promise? From a virtue ethics perspective, it would be morally wrong to break the promise.

  • Reasoning: Virtue ethics focuses on developing good character traits like honesty, trustworthiness, and loyalty (Rachels & Rachels, 2019). Breaking a promise undermines trustworthiness, which is a key virtue that helps build strong relationships and a good life (eudaimonia). A virtue ethicist would likely argue that while the financial opportunity is tempting, the long-term consequences of breaking a promise are more detrimental to one’s character and well-being.

Scenario:

A friend promises to help you move on Saturday. However, on Friday, they get a last-minute opportunity for a paid gig that will significantly help their finances. They call you to say they can’t help you move after all.

Ethical Perspectives

1. Virtue Ethics

  • Moral Right/Wrong: A virtue ethicist would likely see breaking the promise as morally wrong, as it goes against the virtue of trustworthiness.

  • Should you break the promise? From a virtue ethics perspective, it would be morally wrong to break the promise.

  • Reasoning: Virtue ethics focuses on developing good character traits like honesty, trustworthiness, and loyalty (Rachels & Rachels, 2019). Breaking a promise undermines trustworthiness, which is a key virtue that helps build strong relationships and a good life (eudaimonia). A virtue ethicist would likely argue that while the financial opportunity is tempting, the long-term consequences of breaking a promise are more detrimental to one’s character and well-being.

2. Kantian Ethics

  • Moral Right/Wrong: A Kantian ethicist would likely argue that breaking the promise is morally wrong.

  • Should you break the promise? From a Kantian perspective, it would be morally wrong to break the promise.

  • Reasoning: Kantian ethics emphasizes acting from a sense of duty and universalizability (Kant, 1996). The categorical imperative states that one should “act only according to

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