Wednesday, January 30, 2013
Is Virtue Relative?
Macintyre suggests that virus are "aquired human qualities" derived from specific "cultural and social traditions". This makes sense because the way one is taught from a young age to live his/her life is most likely the values he/she will hold as true later in life. But what happens if a child grows up in an environment that distorts "good" virtues? What's to say one culture is wrong about its interpretation of virtuous? Are there then even such things that are universally virtuous? Time and place seem to heavily influence one's collection of virtues. That is clear in Macintyre's account of several different figures/movements in history that all hold different qualities of virtue with esteem. It would be logical to conclude that as societal standards change, virtues change. But to me it seems to be a "cop-out" to say that because another person's view of virtue is different then I can do whatever I want. It shifts responsibility and accountability. However, Macintyre does say that there is a centralized, singular concept that brings all interpretations of virtue together: practice. The practice he refers to is the pursuit towards a certain kind of excellence, or way of life, by following all the right "rules". But who creates these standards of excellence that a person strives to follow? Are they understood universally?
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I think to answer your question, we can look to Aristotle's Virtue Ethics, taken from his larger work, Nichomachean Ethics. He seems to suggest that it is through right actions in accordance with reason that we can be virtuous and at one point, he even mentions that to a certain extent, one's conception of what it means to be virtuous is up to the individual as the individual has to rely on his or her own reasoning abilities to apprehend the good and to act in accordance with the good. Aristotle mentions that society does tend to point out individuals who are either deficient or excessive in a vice, which may lead to at least culturally sensitive idea of what qualifies as moral or amoral. As to whether or not there are virtues that are understood universally, I think that we can say that some virtues are recognized by many cultures collectively, such as wisdom, courage, and empathy, just to name a few. Perhaps we can talk about this more in class where we can have a more fruitful discussion. One thing I think that would be interesting is to talk about morality outside of culture and society---the concept of a much higher sense of morality (if such a morality exists).
ReplyDeleteI think that while Aristotle seems to believe that true virtue is not situational or subjective, it is impossible not to keep one's culture and upbringing in view when making moral decisions. If you have been habituated to believe that a certain action is truly virtuous and right, then even if that action is viewed as morally wrong by the rest of the world, you are more than likely to act in accordance with what you know. While there seems to be some commonality across cultures as to what is morally acceptable, there are definitely some discrepancies and inconsistencies that leave room for a more relative view to virtuous action.
ReplyDeleteI agree with your notion Molly that there is no excuse for acting in any such manner for the sake of doing of so. But a standard, in any context, is something that is used as a measure. And I believe that what is being measured is the effect to bring happiness or pleasure into one's life. The standards of excellence that you question could have been reached or designated because of the positive results they brought. In that case, the standards wouldn't have necessarily been "created."
ReplyDeleteI don't think that just because a society changes that their virtues should change, because it appears as though your virtues are what define you. I think that the virtues could carry a different meaning or understanding, but I don't think that they should change because they are a foundation. (Like the Constitution and Amendments)
I do believe that there are certain rights or rules that are understood universally that could be practiced by all individuals which would in turn begin to create a commonality amongst different cultures. However, the first step in developing this practice and commonality is an understanding and respect for the other cultures that exist.