SYMPOSIUM – VIRTUES, BEHAVIORS AND BELIEFS

For this final Symposium Discussion, please read the article at the bottom of this post by David Brooks entitled “How Would Jesus drive?” Note that despite its title, this article isn’t primarily about Jesus or religion, but about the relation between everyday habits and choices (like those that affect the way one drives) and broader virtues, values, ideas about what is good and worthwhile, etc., which can apply to many areas of life, including personal ethical beliefs on divisive social issues.

In your initial post:

Summarize the article then answer the following two questions:

Do Brook’s views confirm Aristotle’s claim that virtues manifest themselves across one’s life as a whole?

To what extent do you think views about the aim of a good and worthwhile life find their way into everyday attitudes and behavior?

As we’ve seen throughout this course, ethical beliefs, especially on divisive ethical issues, can vary quite a bit from person to person. While a virtue is not the same thing as a belief, what we hold as virtuous is likely related to other things we value.

Discuss whether you think there is any connection between the virtues a person has or holds in high esteem and the ethical beliefs he or she might hold on a given ethical issue.

Provide an example of an ethical issue and discuss how someone’s particular belief about this issue is influenced by his or her virtues. You can choose any issue you want – gun rights, abortion, the right to refuse services based on religious beliefs, the death penalty, etc. — including the issue in your ethical question, any issue from the text book, or any issue you have ethical positions on. The key thing here is to identify how the position on this issue is connected to the virtues and values a person holds.

Reply to your fellow student:

Try to articulate an opposing position on the ethical issue they have chosen to discuss and consider how someone who held that opposing position might do so because he or she holds different virtues or values. For example, if your fellow student discusses gun rights, take the opposing position they present and consider how this opposing position might be informed by different values and virtues.

Brooks, D. (2017, Jan. 4). How would Jesus drive? The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/01/04/opinion/how-would-jesus-drive.htmlLinks to an external site.