AQA A2 RST3A and RST4A - 6th June + 14th June respectively

Scroll to see replies

I agree with the other people who have said it would be helpful to have some Virtue Theory applied notes!
The only thing I have found is Rosalind Hurthouse's views on abortion - but I'm struggling to find the article now!

Reply 41

CoolCat94

Original post by Katharinejane

I'm doing virtue and sexual ethics! Exact opposite but they were the first we learned and just stuck a bit better. I feel better knowing i'm not the only one doing two!

The exam board advises you do them all obviously but I have only ever done 2 throughout the whole course. Except the RST4A exam where three is necessary

Reply 42

hungryatafuneral

Original post by Aamna01

thankyou i will try do that :smile:

what topics are you doing?

You're welcome. I learnt libertarianism & determinism, virtue theory and science and technology. I think I'll do libertarianism and virtue theory though. I'm alright with science and technology but I feel like I only know the basics, if another section's question was horrible I'd give it a go though

How about you?

Reply 43

Laurrra

Any predictions for libertarianism, free will and determinism? I have a feeling it's going to be a really horrible question

Reply 44

hungryatafuneral

I spoke to my ethics teacher today because I was in school for a different exam.

She reckons Foot will come up for Virtue Ethics since she hasn't had a question dedicated to her yet. Aristotle and MacIntyre have had their own questions so I think she might be right. Either that or it won't specify a scholar and it will be a general question.

She didn't say anything about the other topics though, I only spoke to her briefly.

Reply 45

Styrah

Guys i havent posted in a long while but im worried about the exam tomorrow as ive chosen to do virtue ethics and libertarianism, free will and determinsm.

What is the personality and the moral self ? The way i see it is that since we have free will a kleptomaniac may be inclined to steal but the moral self part means that they may choose not to and i found another example from the same site.

"A youth in a ghetto may be likely to become a gangster because it is in his interests, however, his moral self may override this and he might become a policeman."

http://www.rsrevision.com/Alevel/ethics/freewill/index.htm

So is it overiding what your intrests,environment or gentics and rather choosing the moral thing to do?

Also nessisary and contingent truth. I'm not entierly sure where they fit in. Nessasary truths are those which cannot be false/otherwise and are allways true like all bachelors are men and contingent truths are truths whuch could be correct but sometimes arent like all men are bachelors.But where would i put this in an exam or how would i use it ?

Reply 46

Styrah

Fistly i made a forum mistake and accidently replied to someone what i meant to post here sry :ashamed:

I was wondering what is the personality and moral self cause in my book it only talk about mill and political libertarinism

Finally where do necessary and contingent truth fit in ?

Reply 47

hungryatafuneral

Original post by Styrah

Fistly i made a forum mistake and accidently replied to someone what i meant to post here sry :ashamed:

I was wondering what is the personality and moral self cause in my book it only talk about mill and political libertarinism

Finally where do necessary and contingent truth fit in ?

Not sure but I can help with necessary and contingent truths.

Necessary is it will definitely happen, contingent is it might happen but is ultimately due to chance.

So for example "My dad was killed in a car accident and now I won't get into a car and I don't drive".

A determinist would call this a necessary statement, my dad's death caused my current ideas about cars but really it's a contingent statement it's chance that made me hate cars, it's possible that my dad could have died in an accident and I learnt to drive after. It's only true because of chance.

Libertarians say that determinism is false because determinists mix up necessary and contingent truths.

Reply 48

beckya

Can anyone explain to me how MacIntyre's three types of people fit into his theory of Virtue Ethics?

Reply 49

Anyafrieda

Does anyone have any idea on Dualism? I understand materialism but Dualism like Aristotle and Plato is killing me?

Reply 50

hungryatafuneral

Original post by beckya

Can anyone explain to me how MacIntyre's three types of people fit into his theory of Virtue Ethics?

He uses their presence in society as evidence that morality has lost its way and that we're in a moral vacuum. It's because of these people that we should return to virtue theory.

Reply 51

beckya

Original post by hungryatafuneral

He uses their presence in society as evidence that morality has lost its way and that we're in a moral vacuum. It's because of these people that we should return to virtue theory.

Thanks! So they are literally just examples of "vicious" people in society?
Does everybody fit into one of these categories if they are not virtuous?

Reply 52

hungryatafuneral

I've learnt all the theories of conscience but I don't get when or how I'd use them in an essay. How does the fact that we have conscience relate to free will?

Reply 53

hungryatafuneral

Original post by beckya

Thanks! So they are literally just examples of "vicious" people in society?
Does everybody fit into one of these categories if they are not virtuous?

I'm not sure really, guess so. Aristotle defined the 'vicious' person didn't he? Yeah, it's probably good to compare the theories.

Reply 54

beckya

Original post by hungryatafuneral

I've learnt all the theories of conscience but I don't get when or how I'd use them in an essay. How does the fact that we have conscience relate to free will?

I'm guessing it relates to the concept of the moral self. If you were religious your conscience might act as your moral self.

Reply 55

hungryatafuneral

Original post by beckya

I'm guessing it relates to the concept of the moral self. If you were religious your conscience might act as your moral self.

Ahh, okay thanks!

So some of the theories say that conscience is innate, some say it develops because of external things so does innate = free will and external = determined?

Reply 56

Styrah

Original post by beckya

Can anyone explain to me how MacIntyre's three types of people fit into his theory of Virtue Ethics?

I think his 3 types of people fit in with his view of moral bankrupcy, we dont know whats the right or correct thing to do anymore, our idols are generally there "celebrity" who do bad things but thats what we aspire to be e.g heard tulisa got arrested for drugs, the "beauracrtic manager" who dosent think about morals and only profits therefore shows he/she only think about external and not internal goods e.g financial crisis of 2007/8 and then the terapist who is not a philosopher and morally bankrupt and is supposed to help the clebrity and beauracratic manager do the right thing but does not help.

Im not sure if thats all entirley right but thats my interpritation about it, maybe just ask your teacher tomorrow morning before exam just to make sure.

p.s hungryatafuneral thx for the great example helped me lots

(edited 10 years ago)

Reply 57

DelBoy12

Can anyone actually write a good essay on Foot for Virtue Ethics?
What does she actually do other than state she believes that a person who over comes temptation is more virtuous than a person with no temptation at all...
If an essay question on Foot comes up I am totally screwed

Reply 58

hungryatafuneral

Original post by DelBoy12

You're not screwed! I think you could stretch her theory out to a full essay. I'd just give a quick overview of virtue theory and then focus on what she added on. Here's my notes:

- She's critical of modern ethical theories and says we should go back to Aristotle and virtue theory

- Virtues are important because they benefit the individual and the community

- Virtues are corrective of flaws in human nature so we like being lazy, that's why industriousness is a virtue

- Virtues require good will and so involve intention and inner desires

- context is important too so while courage is a virtue a courageous villain is still not virtuous however Aristotle says virtue could only lead to good things

- you're more virtuous when you find it difficult to be virtuous so a starving tramp goes to a supermarket if he manages not to steal he's being more virtuous than the rich fat man who doesn't even feel tempted to steal even though neither of them stole. This conflicts with Aristotle's idea of the virtuous and continent person, he says of you find it difficult to be virtuous then you're not virtuous at all

- the issue of temptation shows how virtue theory looks into the heart of the moral agent.

That's all I have, I think it's enough for 30 marks if you pad out the points a lot.
Maybe use a load of examples to make it look longer