Virtue theory, she says based on .
..., is concerned with ..
..Applies virtue theory to abortion debate - concern is the morality, not whether it should be legal or not, and examines women's asking if they would have it.
Virtue theory, she says based on Aristotle, is concerned with human flourishing. The idea behind virtue theory is that all decisions should be guided by virtues. Therefore we should aim to make decisions on virtuous behavior.
-Virtue:
"character trait humans need to flourish or live well - develop through habitual action"
-Virtuous agent:
"who has and exercises virtues"
-Right action
"what a virtuous agent would do in the circumstances"
Men can have same views on abortion, both sides, as women. It is as important to
be a father as it is to be a mother, something many teenage men turn a blind eye to.
Motivation for bringing women's rights into discussion may be to attempt to
correct implication, carried by the killing-centered approach, that insofar as abortion is wrong, it is wrong that only women do, or at least that only women instigate. I do not myself believe that we can thus escape the fact that nature bears harder on women than on men, but virtue theory can certainly correct many of these injustices that emphasis on women's rights is rightly concerned about.
Even when having an abortion is the right decision you still have to ask yourself
how did I get myself into this position were having an abortion is the right thing? Rape? Contraception? Therefore the abortion though the right choice can still be a reflection of a moral failing that got one into the circumstances in the first place.
People without kids are said to not know what life's about but Rossland reminds us that we are in the happy position where
there are more happy worthwhile things to do that will fit into one lifetime.
So therefore some might peruse other worthwhile things. However sometimes people kid themselves and use this to not be parents not for good reasons but just because they are immature and selfish.
Two points:
Aborting a fetus is a serious matter that must be taken seriouslyBeing a parent constitutes, in part, flourishing human life
That doesn't mean going forward with a pregnancy is always the right thing.
Too many kids, it interrupts career or education.
Context is very important when it comes to virtue theory and Rossland thinking. But you can't use circumstances to get the conclusion you want. (2)
? Some people say it's the girl's life let her do what she wants with it but through virtue theory we need to see is her life virtuously good/ flourishing?? We need to do this because Rossland says being pregnant and being a parent is intrinsically good and worthwhile but that doesn't mean everyone needs to have a child and be a parent to have a flourishing life.
? In general having children is typically part of a full flourishing life and therefore for Rossland becoming parent and being a good parent is a good thing.
BUT that doesn't mean....- If a women already had lots of children or would die from pregnancy .
..
doesn't mean that abortion is always a vicious act.-abortion would necessarily be a vicious/ bad thing.
Some women and men who chose abortion are waiting so they can fulfill some dream they have.
Rossland says the morality of abortion is discussed on 2 things,
1.the state of the fetus; is it a person? What rights does that give it? 2.And women's rights, does she have a right to control her own body? But does that override a fetus's right to life?? The virtue theory dismisses these two discussion points by deeming them fundamentally irrelevant. Just having a moral right to do something doesn't't mean it's a right that you should exercise.
? The virtue theory dismisses these two discussion points by deeming them fundamentally irrelevant.
Just having a moral right to do something doesn't't mean it's a right that you should exercise.
Whether women have a right to terminate there pregnancy is irrelevant because
it doesn't matter her rights but rather if she is acting virtuously. (is it the right thing to do under the circumstances) Is the action morally virtuous or morally vicious.
The question we should focus on is
what sort of actions under that circumstances would tend to promote a flourishing life? Therefore even if the women has the moral right that is not the question!
Need to think what does this pregnancy mean to your life and the relationships around you? It is important to not disregard the fetus's potential life.
? It's not that abortion cannot be the right decision but to decide whether or not it is the right decision we need to look at it from the right perspective judging if it is a virtuous or vicious act.
Abortion for shallow reasons is much more shocking than abortion in the early stages. So therefore it is hard to see that an abortion in the early stages is the destruction of a life.
