Ethical Theory: Classical and Contemporary - Essay Example

Virtue theory emphasizes the need for people to break the bad habits or vices that stand in the way of one becoming a good person. When dealing with virtue theories individuals should ask themselves the following questions: what virtues are characteristic of the individual that I would like to be now and in the future? What kind of a person do I want to be? And what actions will cultivate the virtues I want to have? Though virtue ethics are not popular, it is one of the oldest types of ethical theories in Western philosophy.

Plato specialized on four virtues: courage, wisdom, justice, and temperance. Aristotle specialized in Nichomachean Ethics which dealt on how people acquire good behaviors of character and their capability to manage their emotions and reasoning. This helps people to make the right moral decisions when facing challenges. Virtue theory emphasizes the need for people to break the bad habits or vices that stand in the way of one becoming a good person. When dealing with virtue theories individuals should ask themselves the following questions: what virtues are characteristic of the individual that I would like to be now and in the future?

What kind of a person do I want to be? And what actions will cultivate the virtues I want to have? Though virtue ethics are not popular, it is one of the oldest types of ethical theories in Western philosophy. Plato specialized on four virtues: courage, wisdom, justice, and temperance. Aristotle specialized in Nichomachean Ethics which dealt on how people acquire good behaviors of character and their capability to manage their emotions and reasoning. This helps people to make the right moral decisions when facing challenges.

Virtue ethical theories have an important role in our understanding of morality as they emphasize the central role played by purposes in moral questions. An act of virtue is an act of a particular motivation meaning that right moral decisions need the right motives. Ethical theories are essential because other moral theories experience difficulties when handling complicated moral calculations on the best actions to take, or the moral duties they can emphasize on. Virtue ethical theories guarantee that once an individual is successful in creating the kind of an individual they would like to be, the right moral decisions will naturally come.

In reality, virtue ethics is not neat and simple as it is imagined, though most common moral decisions may seem like the right moral character. The truth is most moral challenges need critical thinking and analysis as a person’s good character does not guarantee assurance of right decision making.