HUM 6354 - Advanced Professional Seminar

Ethics and Human Nature

 

Let Love be your Guide

This week's readings were all about doing the right thing, not just for our patients, but also in life. Kraut (2014) elaborates on the writings of Aristotle on ethics and virtue.  Kamtekar (2004) tells us that we are interested in virtue as something good for us, because we want what is good for us. Simpson (1992) asks us to question why is it necessary to be virtuous or why being virtuous is good. Benner (2003) posits that asking what it means to be a “good” practitioner involves more than asking about our moral obligations, more than just appraising patients’ rights, and more than validating our past actions.

When I think of virtue, I am reminded of Proverbs 31:10 – "Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." The qualities of the virtuous woman include trust, doing good, working willingly with her hands, caring for her home and family, courage, wisdom, and kindness. These are qualities that I strive for daily. 

Of course, we know that we all struggle with what is right and wrong, especially when it seems that doing wrong would bring you pleasure or something you desire. But, when you have been raised properly, as Aristotle suggested was necessary to be a virtuous person, most of the time you will choose to do what is right. And all of the time, when you choose wrongly, you will feel the guilt from having done so. At least that is true for me. And I enjoy sleeping well, so I try to choose well every single time.

My artwork for this week is a collage mostly of words that reinforce the learnings from our reading. By letting love be our guide, choosing the right stuff, letting our words, work and money feed the good, we can be fit to be the best and that is powerful. 




Benner, P. (2003). Enhancing Patient Advocacy And Social Ethics. American Journal of Critical Care, 374-375. Retrieved March 6, 2016.

Kamtekar, R. (2004). Situationism and Virtue Ethics on the Content of Our Character. Ethics, 114(3), 458–491. http://doi.org/10.1086/381696.

Kraut, R. (2014). Aristotle's Ethics. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Retrieved March 2, 2016, from http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/aristotle-ethics.

Simpson, P. (1992). Contemporary Virtue Ethics and Aristotle. The Review of Metaphysics, 45(3), 503–524.