According to Aristotle, to be virtuous is to be happy. To be
virtuous is to perform their rational function well and to not to perform well
is to be considered un-virtuous. If one is to act as a coward they lack the
courage. If one responds in a difficult situation righteously they are considered
courageous. How someone responds is still subject to persecution to see if that
individual acted correctly in the situation. Take the Kentucky Clerk who
refused to issue a marriage license to a same sex couple after the Supreme
Court ruling stating it is legal in all states. The Kentucky Clerk believed
that in her mind she was being virtuous by sticking to her Christian beliefs
that are against same sex marriage. She is some minds thought of being
courageous for not backing down. Courage is taking the proper action in the
face of difficulty, danger and fear. To hide behind the idea of a Christian
view to deny others basic rights in my view is a coward’s action. People use
the bible to fit their own personal beliefs but fail to realize that we are
suppose to treat all equal regardless. We are all brothers and sisters in the
eyes of God. Now take Aristotle’s idea of the acorn, the end game is to become
a tree. What was the end game of her action and what was the goal that she
attempted to achieve. The Kentucky Clerk’s action according to Aristotle would
not be classified as being Virtuous because it impedes on the couples path to
happiness. The action was not good for its own sake either. Those who would
argue that her action could be considered Virtuous would have to decide if they
are basing their point of view from Intellectual Virtues or Practical Virtues. We
also have to decide who decides what is virtuous in our own time and social
standings.
I would not necessarily call the actions of the Kentucky clerk courageous. I think she was just acting upon what her rights were. Who are we to say rather she is right or wrong when it is her belief? Since gay marriage is legal in all states, the wrong she did was not abiding by the law. I would not say that her actions were wrong because that is her personal opinion on marriage according to her interpretation of the bible. We all have the right to make judgment and believe in what we want to believe. She did not have courage to me because there was not really any danger nor fear involved. The only difficult decision she made was rather or not to issue the certificates. It’s not really that difficult since it is now a law. She made her decision not to issue the license and that decision landed her in jail. I would not call her virtuous on the premises of her actions because I feel that she did not face a real circumstance that proved rather or not she had courage.
ReplyDeleteTayler Hildreth
I don’t believe the clerk’s act was courageous or that the situation presented to her would give her the title of acting courageously or cowardly. As you mentioned, to act courageous is to respond in the face of difficulty, danger, or pain. The clerk had a choice to either abide by the law and go against her beliefs or stay true to her beliefs and go a different path. In my opinion, she didn’t have to compromise her faith, but she also didn’t have to go to jail either. She could have quit her job, so she wouldn’t have to issue out a license to same sex couples—if she didn’t do it, they would find someone else who will. I agree with Tayler Hildreth in that there wasn’t any real danger or fear involved. Her act was neither courageous nor cowardly because she did not face any danger or pain in my opinion. However, on the issue of whether she was virtuous is questionable and dependent upon how you define the term virtuous. Aristotle believes that to become virtuous one must do virtuous acts. To judge her on this one act would not be fairly deeming her virtuous or not.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you, Charles in a sense. Yes, she what she did was acting on her own and sticking up for what she believed in and not backing down. I do think the Clerk acted as a coward. But she hid behind her "Christian beliefs" which wasn't very Christian like at all. She denied people marriage because of her own views but that doesn't make her Godly. I'm sure there are other clerks in America that don't necessarily agree with the gay/lesbian marriage but they issue out licenses anyway because it's their job. America's government is not influenced by religion and it's employees aren't either. Therefore I do not think she is neither courageous or virtuous.
ReplyDeleteI understand what you mean by the Kentucky Clerk thinking she herself was being virtuous in her own way. She definitely had a ton of courage to stand up and say that she didn't agree with a decision that had been made by the Supreme Court, but to me it was also foolhardy. She knew that there was going to be a lot of backlash for what she did, so why do it? She really hurt herself in the long run. She thought she was being Just, but she was really being Unjust because of the way it was seen in society. But yes, it is not fair to judge her because we really don't know anything else about this woman, just that she has spoken her own views and beliefs.
ReplyDeleteThe toughest thing about what we discussed in class is who gets to decide what is virtuous. Everyone has their own opinion about every little thing now a days. Many of these situations require a fairly strong position to be taken, much like the Kentucky Clerk situation. Many people would stand behind her and say she is doing the right thing, while others would say her actions were not virtuous at all. I do not think that it is up to one person to decide whether she was acting virtuously or not. Even if that one person made that decision, no matter what there would be a group of people who did not agree with that person. It is like a never ending cycle, and nothing would get accomplished.
ReplyDeleteI agree that her action wasn't courageous or virtuous at all. But also as you said she felt as sticking up for her Christian belief was courageous and yes some other radical Christians as I view them would agree. They're actions seem to contradict the belief of the Christian religion as a whole which also makes them lack virtue and happiness; because they're not really happy or true believers of Christ at all.
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