The thing is… that’s really beyond the scope of what I care to argue about. I understand the difference, but it’s so small as to not be worth the typing time. It’s precisely the kind of splitting hairs I don’t want to go into.
The theme that would get treated is morality, not ethics. It kind of starts off assuming that it is self-evident why good is good, and that human beings do not hold wildly divergent morals or have wildly different internal states in the same situation. Mostly. Sample topics that I’m likely to touch on are: rationality as wisdom; the self-perception of a humble person and how that may be an improvement from the baseline; the intent with which one enters an interaction; a call towards being more understanding to others; respect and disrespect; how to deflect (and why to avoid making) arguments in bad faith; malicious dispositions, and more. Lots of things relevant to community maintenance.
These essays aren’t yet written, so perhaps that’s why it all sounds (and is) so chaotic. There may be more topics which conflict more obviously with utilitarianism, especially if there’s a large number of individuals concerned. As for conflicts with consequentialism, they’re less likely, but still probable.
If you don’t want to talk about the difference then I respect that, and I wasn’t suggesting that you do. If anything I would suggest avoiding the term “virtue ethics” entirely and instead talking about virtue which is more general and a component of most moral systems.
I disagree that it is splitting hairs though or a small difference. It makes a large whether or not you wish to cultivate virtue for its own sake (regardless or independent of consequence), or because it helps you achieve other goals. The latter makes fewer assumptions about the goals of your reader.
The thing is… that’s really beyond the scope of what I care to argue about. I understand the difference, but it’s so small as to not be worth the typing time. It’s precisely the kind of splitting hairs I don’t want to go into.
The theme that would get treated is morality, not ethics. It kind of starts off assuming that it is self-evident why good is good, and that human beings do not hold wildly divergent morals or have wildly different internal states in the same situation. Mostly. Sample topics that I’m likely to touch on are: rationality as wisdom; the self-perception of a humble person and how that may be an improvement from the baseline; the intent with which one enters an interaction; a call towards being more understanding to others; respect and disrespect; how to deflect (and why to avoid making) arguments in bad faith; malicious dispositions, and more. Lots of things relevant to community maintenance.
These essays aren’t yet written, so perhaps that’s why it all sounds (and is) so chaotic. There may be more topics which conflict more obviously with utilitarianism, especially if there’s a large number of individuals concerned. As for conflicts with consequentialism, they’re less likely, but still probable.
If you don’t want to talk about the difference then I respect that, and I wasn’t suggesting that you do. If anything I would suggest avoiding the term “virtue ethics” entirely and instead talking about virtue which is more general and a component of most moral systems.
I disagree that it is splitting hairs though or a small difference. It makes a large whether or not you wish to cultivate virtue for its own sake (regardless or independent of consequence), or because it helps you achieve other goals. The latter makes fewer assumptions about the goals of your reader.