This week I had the opportunity to read and reflect on an
important individual-centered approach to ethics - one that shifts the focus from cognitive
philosophies to virtue theory and includes a shift from the “head” to the “heart.”
Considering virtue ethics reminds us that ethics is just as
much about developing the right character as it is about following the right procedure.
Virtue ethics acknowledges behind every action is a person and the rules and results
cognitive ethics is concerned with are best considered in the content of
individual character. When considering virtue ethics one answer to the “What to
do” question has less to do with rules and results and more to do with what
kind of person you are. Virtue ethics becomes a way of life and not a checklist
to consider.
One of the interesting concepts that I think comes out of
virtue ethics is the idea that individuals cannot be understood apart from
their community. George Matthew Adams says: “There is no such thing as a self-made
man. We are made up of thousands of others. Everyone who has ever done a kind
deed for us or spoken one word of encouragement to us, has entered the make-up
of our character and of our thoughts, as well as our success.”
I love this idea! It speaks to the value of community and the
ways we need one another. I do wonder how the reverse is true. How do the
unkind deeds and words of discouragement and hindrance affect the development
of our character? Where do we see positive examples of this in our world and
where do we see the not so great examples?
As a foster parent I am connected to lots of people who
parent children who have experienced awful things. I have a friend who is currently
fostering two teenage children who before moving to her house literally lived in
a tent in the woods. They have no memory of ever living with electricity or running
water. They were being raised by parents and friends who were evading the
federal government for a number of reasons. It has been challenging for this
family to help these kids understand how many things work in the world – many practical
things like school and televisions – but also things related to character. I wonder,
internally, what sense of virtue and ethics those two had and how that has
developed or changed as they have been in a different living situation and have
been exposed to a larger community.
The reading on virtue ethics also highlighted several people as examples of those who display strong virtue and character and are thought to be leading based on a strong sense of “heart” ethics. One of those individuals is Cory Booker.
Cory Booker is a former city council member and mayor of
Newark, New Jersey and was elected to the US Senate in 2013. He has shown
evidence of serving the public interest with a hands-on tactic to addressing
human problems.
You can read more about Cory Booker by googling or clicking
here for his wiki page: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cory_Booker
From the beginning of his political career Booker has proven
that he believes actions speak louder than words. As a city council member in
the late 1990’s Booker lived in a tent in the middle of his district and went
on a hunger strike in order to increase pressure on the police to crack-down on
drug related crime. In his first year as mayor of Newark he did ride alongs
with police officers on night patrols and stayed with them until the early
morning hours. He says this gave a
message of solidarity: “I wanted to show people that I’m willing to work as
hard or harder than anybody in city hall to get the word out to police officers
that I was challenging them to show my level of commitment.” Best of all - -
this worked! Newark experienced an increase in police productivity and a
falling crime rate.
Booker has also experienced the cost of integrity as well. In
a TV interview he expressed his feelings about Obama’s negative political
campaigning which triggered backlash from fellow Democrats. He retracted his
statement but stands by his convictions to the type of political climate that
is fostered by negative campaigning.
Book has said “My mom used to say that who you are speaks so
loudly that I can’t hear what you say.” This idea sums up his philosophy and
points to his emphasis and understanding of virtue ethics.
I first learned of Cory Booker when he received national
attention for doing a “food stamp challenge.” Booker agreed to live and eat for
one week on what the average food stamp recipient receives in one week. He
tweeted and blogged about the experience. The group I currently work with has
adopted this idea as well and encouraged out participants in Poverty Awareness
Week to take a similar challenge as well. You can see more about his experience
here:
I liike the quote by George Matthew Adams about how there is no such thing as a self-made man. It reminds me of a part from Malcolm Gladwell's book Outliers where he discusses the same thing. Gladwell states that we are all made from a combination of our life experiences, culture and luck. I find this to be true because it just makes sense. The book uses examples such as Bill Gates and Steve Jobs to demonstrate how luck made their stories possible, that does not mean that all one needs is luck because that's not true but it does play just as big a part as culture and life experiences in making people who they are. In the case of the foster kids you mention luck has not been on their side and that has resulted in them having to take a different path than the normbut it all contributes to who they are and will become.
ReplyDeleteMary, I like your “head to heart” analogy as it really does fit perfectly for your assessment. What kind of people we are is a strong question to ask each time we face an ethical decision. We are parts of our community and I had seen this when I was on patrol in the low income/ high crime neighborhoods. For many individuals, their way of life has become breaking the law every day and to conduct illegal drug sales or other crime activity. They were born into this area and that is all they have ever been shown. There are no positive role models for them to learn from and as a result there is no hope of making anything of themselves. I believe a person has to be surrounded by other people that succeed in order to actually make it. When I was brought up, the saying was it takes a neighborhood to raise a child. That is still true today but we have a lot of very bad neighborhoods.
ReplyDeleteMary,
ReplyDeleteThis was a great blog! I definitely agree with you when you stated that George Matthew Adams quote speaks to the value of community and the ways we need one another. I believe that the greatness of others has an impact on how great you could be yourself. To answer your question about how the reverse is true, I believe that the unkind deeds and words of discouragement and hindrance affect the development of our character because if someone continues to embed negative things in you, you may start to believe those things if the "thousands of others" that George Matthew Adams referenced which we are “made up of” is not telling us otherwise and embedding positive things in return. I was raised to treat others as if you want to be treated and that plays into how someone can impact a persons success.
Mary,
ReplyDeleteI sympathize with you when talking about the nurturing and teaching of ethics to foster children. having been a foster parent myself, I have seen things that make me wonder if the children we are raising will ever become productive citizens when they reach adulthood, or if they will carry on the inherent traditions and mistakes left to them by unethical people whose sole priority in life were their wants and needs, and not the best interests of their children.
But the problem goes deeper than that. I have seen social workers representing the best interests of the children lie about what they are doing to protect the kids. I have seen foster parents only in the business for the money, and the more children they foster, the wealthier they become (relatively speaking). Being born to unethical parents, being taken away from them, and placed in the care of unethical caregivers, being directed by unethical social workers, it's a miracle that some of these kids actually make it out alive. But thanks to you, and your friends, and those who are making a difference, there is at least some chance that these kids will pick up on good behaviors, and model their actions after those who have selflessly given their hearts to these children.
Mary,
ReplyDeleteYour post is so influential. This post speaks volume. A person's character is really made up of others opinions about him or her. We are human and we cannot live without the help of others. This post brings me back to week one and our discussion of the different philosophers. Ethics and value are not things that people are born with, they are taught overtime. We base our core beliefs on how we are raised. To answer your question in reverse, I believe that negative words affect you just as much as encouraging words. Our character is apart of our self-esteem. If people do not take to kindly to your nature, they tend to degrade your persona which persuades other to perceive you differently. Humans are not perfect, therefore they want to feel accepted. If we are constantly told bad things about ourselves, we tend to believe them. Also your environment/community plays a vital role in your success. If people do not believe in you, this will affect your chances of getting opportunities. This reminds me of black mailing someone. Black mailing is the act of threatening or causing loss to another person if they do not meet demands. A person's livelihood can be affected by others. Believe it or not people have the power to ruin your life or hinder you from succeeding. I prefer to just treat others as I would have them treat me. I want everyone to succeed.