Rodent News, Ethics

[tcpip]

Naughty rat (the one with the white paws) passed away this afternoon. She was old and tired and rather over the heat, but also content with her lot. At 32.5 months of age, she comes in at roughly 81 human years. Friendly and gentle, she had been a good mother, underwent two tumour removals, and generally was good company to have around. We hope your time on this planet was comfortable and safe. Her parting leaves us with but four members of the order rodentia in our household; her children Picador and Pranskter, her cage-mate Lucky, and the visiting rat Suki. On-topic, I have received a brilliant reply to my request for cabybara milk (alas, in the negative). In other animal news, was delighted to discover a children's party on the estate this morning which included a large number of young rabbits and guinea pigs, a young sheep, and a kid goat. I think I was having more fun with their company than the children.

Adam Ford gave a presentation at The Philosophy Forum today on normative ethics, giving a broad overview of consequentialist, deontological, and virtue ethics. I must confess that I have always struggled intellectually with the latter, as I've considered it to be the result of deontological and consequentialist reasons, rather than an foundation. There is, of course, a good argument for virtue ethics as an intrinsic emotional point of view and in which case the argument for character building by habitual emulation of ethical leaders (Socrates, Jesus, Gautama Buddha, & etc) makes more sense. I raised the possibility that Nietzche was, in a sense, a virtue ethicist who was trying to build virtue by subjective overcoming - which of course concurs with my general assessment that he was very alone indeed in his mind.

Comments

[iris]

I bet Naughty rat was a very happy rat! I have never known anyone to actually own rats, even if I know they are a common pet, so I enjoy reading about your rats. Well, not the bad news. I hope to hear some good news about your rat family soon, as they sound very interesting. :)

[tcpip]

Rats are awesome pets; affectionate, intelligent, pretty easy to maintain. They don't last long tho'.

[redcountess]

Sorry about the loss of Naughty, I remember Erica mentioning her when she gave me a lift back into the city after Michael's birthday. But that does sound like a good innings.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

I think she was pretty happy. She certainly showed no great sign of being in pain, or frustrated, or bored. It's just that she found bounding around a little more difficult.

[ratfan.livejournal.com]

The rats and I extend our condolences on the loss of Naughty, but glad to hear she had a good time while she was here and had a nice long ratty life.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Thank you and *scritches* to your little rodentia friends.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

I like virtue ethics because it gives you a framework with which to apply to unique situations. Deontology is too rigid to be applied to new and unique moral decisions and consequentialism requires one to be able to see the future. With virtue ethics I look at a situation and think "what is the right way to act here?" and then act. Sometimes that means I have to break common held "rules" and sometimes it means I wind up making things worse.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

The idea that I'm stumbling towards is that deontological frameworks are more about moral principles, from which the application of consequentialist ethics can be applied, leading to habits of virtue.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

Interesting, I'm a big fan of syntheses of supposedly separate philosophical ideas, but wouldn't a deontological framework based on moral principles be virtue ethics?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Kinda-sorta. In general that sort of process is right, but the key difference (as the link in the OP suggests) is that whilst deontological principles suggest one acts according to duty, virtue ethics suggests that it is emotionally intrinsic. As the famous example illustrates a person who visits a sick friend in hospital because they believe they have a duty to do so, is somewhat different in motivation to one who does it because that is intrinsic to their character.

Arguably one can develop character from principles as consistent moral principles become a background and unconscious habit.

[anfalicious.livejournal.com]

virtue ethics suggests that it is emotionally intrinsic

Eh, I don't know about that. Eudaimonia is supposedly objective, and one's virtues are supposed to come from there through the exercising of reason, at least according to Aristotle. There shouldn't be a need for any emotion.

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

That is true, but one also must recall that in the Hellenic view that reason is a type of recollection (anamnesis). Given that virtue ethics is based the intrinsci character of the individual, it seems that the suggestion is that reason is to be used to return to the "natural good state" of the virtuous individual.

Of course, I don't actually think that's entirely true, and would rather a more contemporary version where from empathic naturalism is combined with deontological principles in a utilitarian context to create virtuous habits.

[pollyanna-n.livejournal.com]

I went to visit the capybara last week. What was the reply?

[tcpip.livejournal.com]

Follow the link; brilliant but in the negative, alas.