Ethics VI: Virtue Theory in Practice

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Ethics VIVirtue Theory in Practice
Ethics VIVirtue Theory in Practice
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Rosalind Hursthouse Virtue Theory and Abortion
Hursthouses Central Program

• Hursthouse seeks to apply an Aristotelian
  approach to virtue theory to the morality of
  abortion.
• In particular, Hursthouse claims she is not
  attempting to argue that a virtue theory approach
  is the correct approach to the issue, but rather
  that she is simply trying to show how a virtue
  theorist would approach the topic.

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Outline of Ethical Approaches
Forges a link between right action and moral rule.
Deontology
P1 An action is right if it is in accordance with
a moral rule or principle. P2 A moral rule is
one that
Forges a link between moral rule and rationality.

1. is laid on us by God or
2. is required by natural law or
3. is laid on us by reason or
4. is required by rationality or
5. would command universal rational acceptance or
6. would be the object of choice of all rational
   beings.

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Outline of Ethical Approaches
Forges a link between right action and
consequences.
Act Utilitarianism
P1 An action is right if it promotes the best
consequences. P2 The best consequences are those
in which happiness is maximized.
Forges a link between consequences and happiness.
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Outline of Ethical Approaches
Forges a link between right action and the
virtuous agent.
Virtue Theory
P1 An action is right if it is what a virtuous
agent would do in the circumstances. P1a A
virtuous agent is one who acts virtuously, that
is, one who has an exercises the virtues. P2 A
virtue is a character train a human being needs
to flourish or live well.
Forges a link between virtue and flourishing/
living well/ eudaimonia.
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Virtue Theory

• Virtue theory avoids the complaint of circularity
  by specifying right action in terms of the
  virtuous agent, she in terms of virtues, and
  these as characteristics required for eudaimonia.
  
• As such, virtue theory is concerned both with
  What should I do? and What kind of person
  should I be?

• Every virtue generates a positive instruction,
  and every vice a prohibition.
• The agent may skip emulating some virtuous agent,
  and instead ask herself, If I were to do
  such-and-such now, would I be action justly or
  unjustly, kindly or unkindly etc.

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Virtue Theory (contd)

• The point of emulating the virtuous agent is that
  acting morally calls for moral wisdom, which is
  acquired through experience, and is not typically
  found in youths who have had little life
  experience.

• Hursthouse seems to indicate this comes down to a
  familiarity with the subtleties of the virtues.
• A normative theory which any clever adolescent
  can apply, or which reaches practical conclusions
  that are in no way determined by premisses about
  what is truly worthwhile, serious, and so on, is
  guaranteed to be an inadequate theory. (597)

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Some Problems Defending Virtue Theory

1. The concept of eudaimonia is obscure, but no less
   obscure than the foundational concepts of
   deontology (rationality) and utilitarianism
   (happiness).
2. It is always possible for one to argue that some
   given characteristic (justice, charity, courage,
   etc.) is not a virtuethat it has been rejected
   as such by some culture. Here, virtue theory must
   stick its neck out and say, well, this culture is
   simply wrong, and provide some argument.
3. Virtue theory will certainly encounter cases of
   unresolvable conflict where some circumstance
   requires following some one virtue and thus
   rejecting another. The same issue seems to
   threaten deontology.

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Virtue Theory Abortion
Hursthouse claims not to be trying to solve the
problem of abortion but to illustrate how
virtue theory directs one to think about it.

• Traditionally, the ethics of abortion focus on
  two issues

1. The status of the fetus, and whether it is the
   sort of thing that may be justifiably killed
   (e.g., whether it is a person, whether it has
   rights, etc.).
2. Womens rights (e.g. what they are, and how far
   they extend).

A virtue theory approach eliminates each of these
issues as fundamentally irrelevant.
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Virtue Theory Abortion (contd)

• Whether or not women have total and complete
  rights to their bodies does not seem to be a
  factor in whether they are acting rightly or
  wronglyvirtuously or viciously

• In exercising a moral right I can do something
  cruel, or callous, or selfish, light-minded,
  self-righteous, stupid, inconsiderate, disloyal,
  dishonestthat is, act viciously. (598)

• The status of a fetus is an extremely difficult
  metaphysical issue.

• But to act virtuously would not seem to rely on
  ones having deep metaphysical knowledge about
  the object of ones actions.
• As such, the answer to such a question cannot be
  relevant to the rightness or wrongness of
  abortion.
• Rather, what are relevant are the familiar
  biological facts pertaining to abortion.

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Virtue Theory Abortion (contd)

• What we should be asking is, how do the familiar
  biological facts figure into the practical
  reasoning, actions and passions, thoughts and
  reactions of the virtuous and the non-virtuous?

• What does it mean to have the right or wrong
  attitude towards such facts?

• What facts

• e.g. that human parents tend to care
  passionately about their offspring. (599)
• e.g. that family relationships are among the
  deepest and strongest in our livesand,
  significantly, among the longest-lasting. (ibid)

• Relevantly, we should maintain the right attitude
  towards life, family, and motherhood.

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Virtue Theory Abortion (contd)

• Obviously, pregnancy is not just one physical
  condition among many, and abortion not comparable
  to a haircut or an appendectomy.

• Premature termination of a pregnancy is, in
  some sense, the cutting-off of a new human life,
  and thereby connects with all our thoughts
  about human life and death and so is a serious
  matter. (599)

• Our attitudes regarding the fetus change as it
  develops, when it is born, and as the baby grows.

• As such, abortion for shallow reasons in later
  stages will be more shocking than abortion in
  early stages, as will miscarriage in later stages
  rather than earlier.

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Virtue Theory Abortion (contd)

• When pregnancy, childbearing, or childrearing
  will conflict with the womans physical health or
  physically demanding job, her seeking an abortion
  cannot be described as self-indulgent, callous,
  or irresponsibleas showing a lack of serious
  respect for human life or motherhood.

• What this shows is rather that something is very
  wrong with the womans life which makes it so
  hard to recognize pregnancy and childbearing as
  the good that they can be. (601)
• That is, there is something that seriously
  restricts her from living her life well.

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Virtue Theory Abortion (contd)

• The familiar facts support the view that
  parenthood in general, and motherhood and
  childbearing in particular, are among the things
  that can be correctly thought to be partially
  constitutive of a flourishing human life. If this
  is right, then a woman who opts for not being a
  mother by opting for an abortion many thereby
  be manifesting a flawed grasp of what her life
  should be, and be about. (601)

• The good of motherhood may conflict with another
  worthwhile pursuit, but where it conflicts with
  either a false, irresponsible, or unrealizable
  goal, failing to pursue this virtue will be the
  wrong act.

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Virtue Theory Abortion (contd)

• One who gets pregnant without the intent of
  bearing a child will usually lack some virtuous
  characterresponsibility, serious-mindedness, and
  so on.

• As such, even where securing an abortion is not a
  vicious act, the guilt such women often feel is
  understandable.

• Similar issues arise for men involved in a case
  of abortion.