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Virtue and austerity.

Peter Allmark¹

¹Health and Social Care Research Centre, Sheffield Hallam University, 32 Collegiate Crescent, Sheffield, UK. p.allmark@shu.ac.uk

Nursing Philosophy : an International Journal for Healthcare Professionals

|January 3, 2013

Summary

Virtue ethics, focused on character, offers a practical framework for moral decision-making, even in challenging political and economic conditions like austerity. It emphasizes enduring values, not rigid behaviors, to promote flourishing.

Area of Science:

Moral Philosophy
Health Care Ethics
Political Philosophy

Background:

Virtue ethics is often contrasted with consequentialism and deontology in health care ethics.
A common critique suggests virtue ethics has limited application to political issues like austerity.
The 20th-century revival of virtue ethics sought to define moral rightness outside religious frameworks.

Purpose of the Study:

To re-characterize virtue ethics beyond a focus on character traits.
To demonstrate the relevance of virtue ethics to political issues, specifically austerity.
To explore how virtue ethics can guide agents toward flourishing in diverse circumstances.

Main Methods:

Philosophical argumentation and conceptual analysis.
Re-interpreting Aristotelian ethics for contemporary application.

Related Experiment Videos

Addressing criticisms regarding the adaptability of virtues in changing environments.

Main Results:

Virtue ethics, properly understood, is relevant to austerity by focusing on fixed values, not fixed behaviors.
Virtues promote flourishing by supporting the societal structures necessary for individual well-being.
Injustice in austere times undermines the social fabric essential for flourishing.
Virtue offers degrees of benefit, though extreme deprivation may challenge its efficacy.

Conclusions:

Virtue ethics provides a robust framework for navigating moral challenges, including austerity.
The practice of virtue is essential for individual flourishing and requires a just society.
Virtue ethics possesses a political dimension aimed at creating conditions conducive to human flourishing.