Assignment 3: Exploring Virtue On The College Campus Case St

Assignment 3 Exploring Virtue On The College Campus Case Studycase

Explore the ethical considerations of virtue, honesty, and non-malfeasance in a college case study involving a young man with genital herpes, his sister, and his girlfriend, including responses to new developments.

Paper For Above instruction

The case revolves around a college student who contracted genital herpes during his freshman and sophomore years while engaging in promiscuous behavior. He becomes romantically involved with a girl in his senior year, and his sister, who is friends with both her brother and his girlfriend, knows about his condition but is unsure whether to disclose this information. This situation raises important ethical questions concerning virtue, honesty, non-malfeasance, and how these moral principles guide actions in complex personal relationships.

The initial focus is on whether the brother’s sexual activities were virtuous and honest. Virtue ethics emphasizes moral character and the pursuit of good actions. In this context, engaging in reckless sexual behavior without disclosure can be viewed as lacking virtues such as responsibility and honesty. By not informing his partners of his condition, the brother may be acting irresponsibly, violating the virtue of honesty, and risking harm to others—elements central to non-malfeasance, which entails avoiding harm to others.

The sister faces a moral dilemma: should she disclose her brother’s health condition to his girlfriend? Ethically, the sister's responsibility is to balance honesty with compassion, considering her relationship with her brother and her concern for his girlfriend’s well-being. From a virtue perspective, honesty is a core virtue, but it must be tempered with prudence and compassion. The sister’s duty to protect her brother’s privacy conflicts with her obligation to prevent harm to his girlfriend. Her decision entails applying the concept of non-malfeasance—avoiding harm—by possibly disclosing the truth or respecting her brother’s wishes.

Regarding the presence of vices, lack of responsibility and excessive secrecy can both be seen as vices of deficiency and excess, respectively. The brother’s initial reckless behavior demonstrates a lack of responsibility, while his decision to conceal his condition from his girlfriend reflects excess, prioritizing secrecy over honesty. The virtues of responsibility, honesty, and prudence provide a framework for evaluating moral actions. Their absence or excess can lead to vice, undermining ethical integrity.

In analyzing these issues, it is essential to recognize potential conflicts among virtues and moral values. For instance, honesty might conflict with loyalty or compassion for the brother’s privacy. Similarly, non-malfeasance may conflict with honesty if revealing the brother’s condition could cause harm or emotional distress. These conflicts require careful balancing, guided by the principle of the golden mean—the virtue of moderation—where actions are calibrated to avoid excess and deficiency. For example, the sister might seek a tactful way to disclose the information, embodying the virtue of honesty balanced with compassion and prudence, thus exemplifying the golden mean.

The concept of excellence relates to achieving one’s moral virtues fully—acting with integrity, responsibility, and compassion. The golden mean represents moderation between excess and deficiency, serving as a practical guide to ethical behavior. For the brother, acting according to the golden mean might mean being honest with his partner while exercising care in how and when he discloses his condition, avoiding reckless secrecy or outright deception. Similarly, the sister’s application of the golden mean involves balancing honesty with respect for her brother’s privacy and her concern for her brother’s girlfriend’s health.

The new development complicates the situation further. The brother’s decision to delay disclosure until symptoms emerge and his request for his sister to keep his secret shifts the moral landscape. This decision raises questions about the moral responsibility to prevent harm and the importance of honesty. The sister must now evaluate whether continuing to conceal the truth aligns with virtues of honesty and non-malfeasance or whether she has a moral obligation to disclose the information sooner to prevent potential harm.

From a virtue ethics perspective, the sister’s choice should be guided by prudence and compassion. She must weigh the harm of secrecy against the importance of honesty, considering the risk of transmission and the health of her brother’s girlfriend. Non-malfeasance suggests that withholding such critical health information could lead to harm, which she has a moral duty to prevent. Her decision might involve an honest, compassionate conversation, emphasizing the importance of transparency and caring for the well-being of all parties involved.

Regarding the brother, he faces the moral challenge of balancing his privacy with his responsibility to his partner. Acting with integrity involves disclosing his condition in a timely manner, guided by virtues of honesty and responsibility. The girlfriend, in turn, has a right to be informed of potential health risks to make informed decisions. Her actions should also be guided by virtues of honesty and prudence, ensuring she is aware and able to act accordingly.

In conclusion, ethical principles grounded in virtue ethics demand that all parties act with honesty, responsibility, and prudence. The sister’s role involves navigating her loyalty to her brother with her obligation to prevent harm, exemplifying moderation as prescribed by the golden mean. The brother should prioritize transparent communication to uphold virtues of honesty and responsibility, avoiding reckless concealment. The girlfriend, in turn, must act prudently with informed consent. The balance among these virtues—honesty, non-malfeasance, and compassion—is essential to ethical moral behavior in complex personal situations.

References

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