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Single Idea 7102
[filed under theme 23. Ethics / C. Virtue Theory / 1. Virtue Theory / d. Virtue theory critique
]
Full Idea
That duties are created irrespective of facts about character is obvious from the case of promises, which bind their makers irrespective of their motives or personality.
Gist of Idea
Promises create moral duties that have nothing to do with character
Source
Daniel Statman (Introduction to Virtue Ethics [1997], §5)
Book Ref
'Virtue Ethics', ed/tr. Statman,Daniel [Edinburgh 1997], p.22
A Reaction
Just occasionally a promise can be broken, by a sensitive and wise person. I promise to give your son some money; I then discover he is a drug dealer. Promises arise out of character, and cannot be made by robots.
The
20 ideas
with the same theme
[reasons against virtue theory]:
3548
|
Aristotle neglects the place of rules in the mature virtuous person
[Annas on Aristotle]
|
1581
|
Greeks elevate virtues enormously, but never explain them
[Descartes]
|
3544
|
Kant thinks virtue becomes passive, and hence morally unaccountable
[Kant, by Annas]
|
5289
|
When aristocracy or the bourgeoisie dominate, certain values dominate with them
[Marx/Engels]
|
20375
|
Virtues must be highly personal; if not, it is merely respect for a concept
[Nietzsche]
|
2881
|
Virtue has been greatly harmed by the boringness of its advocates
[Nietzsche]
|
24132
|
After Socrates virtue is misunderstood, as good for all, not for individuals
[Nietzsche]
|
20198
|
Many virtues are harmful traps, but that is why other people praise them
[Nietzsche]
|
20103
|
You are mastered by your own virtues, but you must master them, and turn them into tools
[Nietzsche]
|
7165
|
Virtue is wasteful, as it reduces us all to being one another's nurse
[Nietzsche]
|
7193
|
Virtue for everyone removes its charm of being exceptional and aristocratic
[Nietzsche]
|
22476
|
Nietzsche thought our psychology means there can't be universal human virtues
[Nietzsche, by Foot]
|
9260
|
Virtues won't generate an obligation, so it isn't a basis for morality
[Prichard]
|
23692
|
Good and bad are a matter of actions, not of internal dispositions
[Foot]
|
16956
|
To explain generosity in a person, you must understand a generous action
[Dummett]
|
7097
|
Virtue is secondary to a role-figure, defined within a culture
[MacIntyre, by Statman]
|
7101
|
Virtue theory needs an external standard to judge behaviour and character
[Inwagen, by Statman]
|
4334
|
Virtue ethics is open to the objection that it fails to show priority among the virtues
[Hursthouse]
|
7100
|
Virtue theory isn't a genuine ethical theory, because it doesn't have universal application
[Statman]
|
7102
|
Promises create moral duties that have nothing to do with character
[Statman]
|