Virtue Ethics Seminar

SCORING: Critical Review Critical Review component pts. A Active Oral participation with specificity, references and evidence of reading pts. B Active Oral participation, with general statements, limited evidence of reading pts. C Active listening, possibly one or two brief generalized statement(s), and no evidence of reading pts. D Limited listening, in-and-out of flow, minimal distractions &/or minimally distracting, no evidence of reading 11 & below F Sleeping, texting, disconnected, distracted, not prepared, etc.

SEMINAR TOPICS: Please be specific and cite references BackgroundBackground Explain the discussion of:Explain the discussion of: Virtue Virtue Practical Wisdom Practical Wisdom Address…Adults, Adolescents, ChildrenAddress…Adults, Adolescents, Children Happiness Flourishing Well Being Happiness Flourishing Well Being Objections to Virtue EthicsObjections to Virtue Ethics the conflict problem. the justification problem.virtue ethics is, in some sense, egoistic.

SEMINAR TOPICS: Please respond to these specific closing statements Following Plato and Aristotle, modern virtue ethics has always emphasized the importance of moral education, not as the inculcation of rules but as the training of character. Following Plato and Aristotle, modern virtue ethics has always emphasized the importance of moral education, not as the inculcation of rules but as the training of character. The best available science today…supports rather than undermines the ancient Greek assumption that we are social animals… no social contract is needed to explain why we choose to live together, subjugating our egoistical desires in order to secure the advantages of co-operation. Like other social animals, our natural impulses are not solely directed towards our own pleasures and preservation, but include altruistic and cooperative ones. The best available science today…supports rather than undermines the ancient Greek assumption that we are social animals… no social contract is needed to explain why we choose to live together, subjugating our egoistical desires in order to secure the advantages of co-operation. Like other social animals, our natural impulses are not solely directed towards our own pleasures and preservation, but include altruistic and cooperative ones.

Altruistic: unselfish regard for or devotion to the welfare of others behavior that is not beneficial to or may be harmful to oneself but benefits others Egoistic: being centered in or preoccupied with oneself and the gratification of one's own desires; self-centered Culpable: Hold responsible, liable; blame; reprehensible Deontology: Ethical theory concerned with duties and rights.

Normative theory: About what ought to be. A normative statement expresses a judgment about whether a situation is desirable or undesirable. Pretension: laying claim to something (i.e. dignity, importance, merit. e.g. They laughed at my pretensions to superior judgment. pretentiousness. the act of pretending or alleging. Feckless: Feckless: ineffective; incompetent Pusillanimous: Pusillanimous: lacking courage or resolution; cowardly; faint-hearted; timid.

Profligate: Profligate: utterly and shamelessly immoral or dissipated; thoroughly dissolute. Utilitarianism: Utilitarianism: the ethical doctrine that virtue is based on utility, and that conduct should be directed toward promoting the greatest happiness of the greatest number of persons Teleology: Teleology: doctrine that final causes exist; study of evidence of design or purpose in nature. Metaethics: Metaethics: the philosophy of ethics dealing with the meaning of ethical terms, the nature of moral discourse, and the foundations of moral principles.