Week 5 Discussion – Philosophy

Post must be 600 words minimum.  Due by 12/18/2014 by 8:30 pm EST.  References must be cited.

In week 4 you examined virtue ethics and what it means to live a flourishing life.  One thing we learned was that in an Aristotelian account, what the virtues are and the way they enable us to flourish is a function of the kind of activity characteristic of the being in question.  With that in mind, identify 3 virtues that are elicited by a feminist ethics such as the ones we find in the readings for this week.  Should we regard those as specific to women, or are they virtues that men should cultivate as well?  Contrast these with 3 virtues that might be more closely associated with the kind of masculine view of ethics that some of the authors claim has dominated our thinking.  How might our view of the virtuous life and virtuous behavior change by focusing our attention on feminist ethics?   Make reference to the arguments of at least one of the relevant readings from week 5 in your discussion, but you are encouraged to compare and contrast multiple readings as well.