Issue Virtue Ethics
Issues raised by science and technology
Cloning – e.g. Dolly the sheep 1997.
DNA from the original sheep put into
an egg which has been stripped of its
DNA – then placed inside a sheep to
mature as a normal embryo would.
Two types: therapeutic (cloned for
medical purposes, not allowed to
develop beyond 14 days when the
primitive streak has formed – thus
the ability to feel pain) and
reproductive (to form an individual
person).
Christianity
• Motivation – could bring massive
gains to people – are these gains
ethical? Depend on impetus
behind them; e.g. companies
pioneering reproductive cloning
would make vast amounts of
money – application of
temperance over greed
(Aristotle + MacIntyre) is
important.
• Medicine as a ‘practice’ –
MacIntyre – confers certain
responsibilities on medical
scientists to act in ways
consistent with established
values of medical practice – e.g.
therapeutic value – this is
consistent with the values
inherent within the practice –
but unsuccessful embryos die,
which is violating key duty of
care.
respect for natural processes –
interference – what is legitimate
interference and want is a
dangerous manipulation?
respect for integrity of
individuals – treat patient as an
end rather than a means – does
this dismiss even therapeutic
cloning therefore?
• Justice – a wealthy person could
purchase ‘elite’ characteristics
for their children – is it fair that
poorer people are disadvantaged?
Unjust society based upon
wealth, not moral deservedness.
• Genetic determinism –
contradicts MacIntyre and
Aristotle’s idea that we are
essentially a blank canvas –
undermines individual
responsibility for development,
so virtue ethicists would dismiss
it.
• "Be fruitful and increase in
number." – must we do this
naturally? Doesn’t specify – so
does this condone cloning?
• We are created in God’s image;
does this mean we are perfect
and should not manipulate God’s
creation OR does this mean he
has ordained us with the ability
to act as co-creators?!
• Are we abusing the knowledge
and wisdom God gave us, or
utilising it for good? Perhaps it
depends upon the impetus.
• Church of England – understands
benefits of therapeutic cloning
but protests every child has a
right to a ‘natural birth’ and ‘two
biological parents’ – condemning
reproductive cloning.
Also – we may have the power to
do something, but it is up to us to
decide whether it is good or bad
and act, or not act at all, in
accordance with this.
• Not for commercial reasons.
• R Catholics – cloning poses a
‘threat to our individuality’ –
rejects all forms of cloning –
‘sanctity of life’. Pope John Paul
II – ‘all forms of human cloning
are wrong’. Rejects therapeutic
cloning on the basis that life
starts at the moment of
conception – tantamount to
murder.
• Apply Christian virtues/sins.
• Virtues: hope, charity, love,
justice, prudence, temperance,
courage.
• Sins: pride, lust, sloth, greed,
gluttony, anger, envy.
• Natural law (Aquinas)
• Divine command (see above
quotes)
• Situation ethics – agapé
• Conscience – voice of God – if we
feel guilty doing something, it’s
probably wrong.
Genetic engineering – the
screening or manipulation of genetic
structure o f cells to modify them.
Can bring about changes in one
generation that could take many years
to evolve naturally. Four types –
• Somatic cell gene therapy
– where genes of a particular
organism are modified but not passed
on to next generation. E.g. diabetics
can be given gene treatment to
control production of insulin, curing
the disease.
• Germ-line gene therapy –
germ-line cells are reproductive cells;
can be altered to combat and
eradicate diseases; alterations are
transferred to future generations,
consequently affecting the human
gene pool. E.g. no consensus over
which ‘defects’ need eradicating –
down’s syndrome, homosexuality?
Haemophilia could be a good one –
hereditary disease.
• Enhancement – ‘improving’ an
individual by manipulating their genes.
E.g. parent wants kid to be athletic.
• Eugenics – ‘improvement’ of a
whole nation or race. E.g. compulsory
sterilisation of ‘mentally unfit’. Also –
Nazi Germany – culminating in deaths
of gypsies, homosexuals, Jews.
Animal experimentation –
cosmetics, detergents and other non-
medical goods – powerful lobby
against such uses nowadays – e.g.
success of shops such as the Body
Shop. 1998 British govt ban use of
animals for cosmetic testing –
continues elsewhere though.
Second, medical experiments – in
1997 over 2.5 mil experiments carried
out on animals for cancer research,
prevention of disease and biological
research; many medical advancements
have been achieved as a result of
experiments e.g. development of
anaesthetics, vaccines for whooping
cough and polio, kidney transplant,
psychiatric drugs.
Aristotelian virtues, as listed in
Nicomachean Ethics: Courage,
temperance, liberality, magnificence,
magnanimity, proper ambition/pride,
patience/good temper, truthfulness,
wittiness, friendliness, modesty,
righteous indignation.
Summary: somatic and germ-line can
be good...enhancement and eugenics
rarely good. Espesh eugenics! Unjust –
ppl dying just to make an ‘improved’
race – really quite unfriendly as well!
Temperance – there’s only so many
ways you can improve ppl, don’t go too
far.
And it causes unfair advantage to
those who have been modified – or
maybe disadvantage, as they don’t
have as much opportunity to strive to
obtain virtues?
Aristotelian virtues, as listed in
Nicomachean Ethics: Courage,
temperance, liberality, magnificence,
magnanimity, proper ambition/pride,
patience/good temper, truthfulness,
wittiness, friendliness, modesty,
righteous indignation.
Practices (MacIntyre) – skills
(internal goods) – are you doing the
experimenting for the internal goods
or for the external gains (e.g. money-
making)
• Apply Christian virtues/sins.
• Virtues: hope, charity, love,
justice, prudence, temperance,
courage.
• Sins: pride, lust, sloth, greed,
gluttony, anger, envy.
• Natural law (Aquinas)
• Divine command (see above
quotes)
• Situation ethics – agapé
Conscience – voice of God – if we
feel guilty doing something, it’s
probably wrong.
• Trad Christian view: inferiority
of animals; hierarchy
• Augustine - said animals were of
lesser worth - inability to
rationalise.
• Aquinas -animals were made to
serve human wants; are avoid of
rights due to inability to reason;
‘it matters not how humans act
towards animals because God has
subjected all things to man's
power.’
• Bible – humans created first –
given ‘dominion’ or ‘stewardship’ –
If we are causing them to suffer
are we going against our roles as
stewards?
• “"A righteous man cares for the
needs of his animals, but even
the kindest acts of the wicked
can be cruel” – Proverbs 11:18
• Jesus said: if your sheep fell into
a ditch on the Sabbath day you
should still help it out – shows
animals are important to the
extent where you can strenuously
pull them out of ditches on the
day of rest.
• Andrew Linsey – Christian
theologian – by mistreating
animals, we are inadvertently
disrespecting God and his
creation.

Hard Determinism
• Free will is illusory
• Principle of universal causality
• No moral responsibility
• Genes and environment
determine us.
• Psychological – conditioning -
Pavlov’s dogs
• John Locke – sleeping man
• Freud and Dawkins both
examples of hard determinist
standpoint to some extent –
Freud says we’re a slave to
psychological urges/desires,
Dawkins thinks we are a slave to
our genetics.
• Calvin – predestination – good is
omniscient and atemporal – knows
the future – therefore it must
be determined
Soft Determinism
• Compatibilism
• Both determined and free
• External causes (restrict
freedom), internal causes
(freedom) – e.g. read a book
voluntarily is internal causes,
read a book cos you need to for
an exam is external causes
• So actions are only free if there
are no external causes – which is
rare
• Augustine – God know to whom he
would grant belief – so who is
granted salvation and who is
damned – ultimately not free but
our means of getting there is
free to some extent?
• Original sin – we are born sinful
but we can choose to follow God
and be absolved eventually –
partially free.
• Hume – Hume’s fork – free will is
in between determinism and
randomness/chaos – either way –
both equal a lack of freedom –
free will is the happy medium.
• Hobbes – “we are free in the only
way we can be” – we are free
within the determined nature of
things
• Mankind made in God’s image –
animals were not.
• "A man is worth many sparrows,
but not one sparrow dies
unnoticed in God's world."
• Church view - “The fact that
animals may be used in scientific
procedures for the benefit of
people shows that we believe
that human beings have more
value than animals. But the fact
that we minimise the pain,
suffering, distress or lasting
harm that animals may have to
undergo shows that we regard
them as having intrinsic value.”
• Apply Christian virtues/sins.
• Virtues: hope, charity, love,
justice, prudence, temperance,
courage.
• Sins: pride, lust, sloth, greed,
gluttony, anger, envy.
• Natural law (Aquinas)
• Divine command (see above
quotes)
• Situation ethics – agapé
• Conscience – voice of God – if we
feel guilty doing something, it’s
probably wrong.
Libertarianism
• We are free
• Sartre – “we are condemned to
be free” – societies impose rules
and regulations cos the extent of
our freedom is otherwise
overwhelming – easier to deny
that we are free, though truly we
are.
• Spirit/soul = free... we might be
physically determined but what
counts is that we are spiritually
free.
• Kant – nouminal world (mind,
ideas) vs phenomenal world - we
are nouminally free but
phenomenally constrained
(Critique of Pure Reason)
• Personality vs moral self –
personality makes us predisposed
to something, moral self can
subdue those inclinations e.g.
pyro.
• Pelagius – said we are completely
free – then got burnt for being a
heretic cos
predetestination/Calvinism used
to be the main religious view –
pelagianism said we could achieve
salvation through our own means,
bit harsh on God when he’s meant
to be the one that does that.
So what is virtue ethics? Summary:

• Oldest western moral philosophy – rooted in ancient Greece

• Believes we should ask the question “what sort of person should I be?” not “what should I
do?”

• Concentrates on moral character, not rules or duties or consequences

• Aristotle – Nicomachean Ethics - we need to flourish – achieve eudaimonia – ‘happiness’ –

develop as a virtuous person, with eudaimon life as final goal, as it is the ultimate good –
whereas other goods are acquired because of further goods they lead to e.g. do A levels to
get a good job to get money etc., eudaimonia is intrinsically good. Phronesis (practical
wisdom) – using experiences to act virtuously and determine the best end. Golden mean
between two vices e.g. courage – foolhardiness and cowardice. List of virtues: Courage,
temperance, liberality, magnificence, magnanimity, proper ambition/pride, patience/good temper, truthfulness, wittiness,
friendliness, modesty, righteous indignation.

• Alasdair MacIntyre – ‘practices’, ‘search for the good life’ – through the practices we can
attain the good life – individual skills benefit everyone – internal goods more important than
external goods (e.g. making money from the skill) - happiness by-product of striving for
excellence in practices – meaningful participation in practices requires virtues e.g. learning
requires commitment – good life is what allows individuals to flourish – characteristics of
flourishing peson include ability to evaluate judgements, imagine alternative futures to make
rational choices, see requirements for attaining goods. We got to be practical reasoners –
we have this capacity, animals don’t.