Chavez 1

Camille Chavez Final Draft

English 1A
Professor Valdes
July 22, 2016

The Reality of Situational Ethics

Many people say the key to living well and being happy in life is to be

generous in doing good deeds. This goes hand in hand with being a virtuous person.

The concept of someones behaviors being driven by their character is known as

virtue ethics. On the other hand, situational ethics involves surrounding influences

in a situation that impact behavior unbeknownst to the person performing the

action. It is the classic case of nature versus nurture. Although the argument for

virtue ethics provides an interesting concept regarding character, situational ethics

gives us more realistic insight into the nature of human behavior.

On the topic of virtue ethics, writer Rosalind Hursthouse asserts that virtue

goes deep within the character of a person. She claims that dispositions are

enmeshed in yet other traits and dispositions (qtd. in Appiah 401). Hursthouse

shares with us the example of an honest person who seeks honesty throughout all

areas of her life. In like manner, that individual would despise actions of dishonesty

whenever she sees them. Virtue ethicists claim that in order to have a life worth

living, one should exhibit virtues. Another aspect to this character is shunning vices

that are in opposition to virtue, such as selfishness, vindictiveness, and disloyalty.

 Chavez 2

Striving to find happiness by developing virtuous qualities is a key aspect of virtue

ethics.

In contrast, situational ethics challenge the notion of consistent character. As

philosopher and seasoned writer Kwame Anthony Appiah points out in The Case

Against Character, peoples behavior is modified depending on miniscule details of a

given situation, also known as situational ethics. Varying from person to person,

these minor changes can make a kind individual behave the opposite, and can also

elicit generous actions from someone who isnt generous. Because of seemingly

unnoticeable changes in a given situation, people tend to do things without

understanding what has influenced their behavior.

Today we are so busy that we dont take the time to analyze the reasons

behind our behaviors. When and if we do, we mistakenly assume that we did a good

deed in order to help someone simply because they needed help. In reality, we fail

to notice how deeply influenced we are by outside details that determine our

behavior one way or another. Additionally, when a stranger does something nice for

us, we are quick to attribute it to him or her being a nice person. When the situation

is analyzed we might find that person received positive news - a job promotion - just

before they encountered us. Subconsciously, theyre more willing to respond to our

need for help because they have been positively affected by that news. However, had

that person just found out they were going to be laid off, they most likely would

never have offered any assistance in the first place. People are unaware of

situational changes and they ignore the role of context (Appiah 406). It is human

tendency for us to believe that behaviors alone represent the true character of a
 Chavez 3

person, whether or not this is accurate. Its important to recognize this because it

affects how we perceive other people around us.

A series of social experiments have been conducted that prove people behave

differently when minor situational variables are introduced. For instance, in the

1970s a study was performed where someone accidentally dropped a stack of

papers outside of a telephone booth at the same time as someone was exiting. If

they had just found a dime inside the phone booth, that person was more likely to

lend a helping hand to the one who dropped their papers than those who did not

find a dime in the coin slot (Appiah 405). Unaware that the minor occurrence of

finding change in the coin slot has affected them, their behavior was altered. Of

course, this isnt to say that people only respond positively if something good

happens to them. It is true that regardless of a change in circumstances, many

people will still respond kindly. In any case, we find that such social experiments

give us insight into what can motivate people to respond a certain way.

Situational ethics can have serious implications in our life because it affects

our behavior in major ways, too. For example, consider a scenario in which a man

loses his job through no fault of his own and is forced to apply for government aid in

the form of unemployment compensation. Unable to find a job in his usual field, he

decides to pursue a certificate or degree in another field that will qualify him for a

well-paying job that will enable him to support his family. Since his family was

recently a double-income household, he doesnt qualify for financial aid for his

schooling. He knows he must rely solely on government aid and the humble salary

his wife brings in. But, he finds out that unfortunately, the government will
 Chavez 4

discontinue his unemployment compensation since his new schedule is no longer

open to full-time work. What will he do? Virtue ethics assumes that if he is honest,

he will report his intentions to the government despite the financial position it will

leave his family in. On the contrary, according to situation ethics, the man is much

less likely to be honest in reporting a change in schedule because his entire family

depends on every penny they can get. Perhaps the more thats at stake, the more

willing a person is to alter their character to commit an act that is not virtuous.

Virtue ethics suggests that virtue goes deep within the character of a person

and leads to a life worth living. Virtuous acts do indeed improve lives, but what

about the intention behind such acts? Of course, a truly kind intention leading to a

kind act is praiseworthy, but are such actions any less credible if theyre done

because of an outside influence instead? We could find fifty different responses

from fifty people, but the fact remains that regardless of intent, the virtuous action

improved both persons experience. While virtue ethics sounds appealing if we are

talking about an honest person, what does it mean for an individual who is

dishonest? It would be a great tragedy to suggest that we can be so unaffected and

unchanged in our character that we lack control over our choices to act, as if our

personality is a fixed combination like a characterological Happy Meal (Appiah

404). Life is full of many variables and as humans we are emotional reactors. Virtue

ethics simply does not leave enough room for the variation of choice in our

encounters.

In conclusion, situational ethics is more realistic because it acknowledges the

variation of character without tying someone to a generalized aspect of their

 Chavez 5

personality. It also allows us to prove the kind of person we are by giving us the

opportunity to be responsible for our behaviors. In the same way, it succeeds over

virtue ethics because if we were to assume that someones responses are pre-

determined by their innate character, it would be very easy to use this as an excuse

for unacceptable behaviors. By understanding how situational ethics applies, we

can be more aware of analyzing behavior within a scenario. It would help us to align

our expectations of others more realistically, and likewise we could strive to achieve

kinder responses out of ourselves, making our world a better place to live in little by

little.
 Chavez 6

Works Cited

Appiah, Kwame Anthony. The Case Against Character. A World of Ideas:

Essential Readings for College Writers. 9th edition. Ed. Lee A. Jacobus. Boston:

Bedford/St. Martins, 2013. 400-411. Print.