Citzen Unit 1 1-10

At the end of this section, you will be able to:
© Explain what virtue and virtue ethics is ;

© Differentiate virtue characters from vices;
© Define what Ethics is;
© Describe the relationship between Ethics and virtue
Ethics;
© Analyse steps for ethical decision making.
Virtue ethics is concerned with the development of one’s character

in order to prepare one for good citizenship in an organised
community, with the belief that a community composed of people
of good character would be a good community. It is the pursuit of
understanding and living a moral life.
Virtues are citizen dispositions, habits, or characteristics that are

conducive or beneficial to the healthy functioning and common
good of a community. In other words, these dispositions encompass
all positive behaviours and actions.
Citizenship Education Grade 8 Student textbook J

In society, responsible citizens are expected to exhibit qualities
such as courage, generosity, and honesty, among others.
This character based approach to morality holds that virtue is
acquired through practice. Moral virtue does not come naturally to
us. Moral virtues are habits that we develop through practice and
imitation of exceptionally virtuous people or especially virtuous
actions. It believes that virtue ethics provides an account of what
is right and wrong based on what a “virtuous agent” would do. A
virtuous person is one whose character traits are all virtues or good
and has no vices or bad.
® “A virtue,” or “virtues,” is specific character traits that tend

to make a person virtuous, or good. For example, honesty,
compassion, courage, and so on.
® The term “vice” is often associated with bad habits. Vices are
the polar opposite of virtues, and they refer to evil or personal
corruption. For instance, dishonesty, cowardice, or selfishness,
injustice, and so on.
Citizenship Education Grade 8 Student textbook

The study of what good and bad ends to pursue in life, as well as
what is right and wrong to do in daily life, is known as ethics. It
is the creation of reasonable standards and procedures for making
ethical decisions. On the other hand, virtue ethics is a branch of
ethics developed primarily by Aristotle and other ancient Greek
thinkers that emphasises the role of an individual’s character and
virtues in determining the rightness of an action, as opposed to
approaches that emphasise duties or rules or the consequences of
actions.
—@GEUTNTTES
9 Deals with the moral (good) and immoral (bad) aspects
of human behaviour,
9 Is a set of principles or generally accepted guidelines for
\ what is and is not acceptable behaviour. py
Every day, we make decisions. Every morning, moral issues

greet us; they confront us individually, at school or in our daily
lives. Dealing with moral issues is sometimes challenging. What
questions should we ask and how should we think about an ethical
issue? What factors should we take into account? This will bring us
to steps in ethical decision making.
? Are you the type of person who always tries to do the right
thing? How do you know what is the “right thing” to do?
8 Citizenship Education Grade 8 Student textbook

Steps in Ethical Decision Making
How do people try to solve ethical issues by making the right

decisions or choices? The answer lies in ethical decision making
methods. There are five simple and inseparable steps to solving an
ethical problem.
1. Identify the central ethical problem: The first step is to

undertake research, investigation, and study until the whole
problem is understood.
2. Identify stakeholders and their interests: Determine who

will be affected by the decisions made. This can be anyone who
is affected by the problem and is involved in the outcome of the
problem.
3. Find a possible solution to the dilemma: This step is to

develop and solve the entire set of alternatives. The information
gathered will be used to develop an alternative course of action.
4. Evaluate each solution: Weigh the strengths and weaknesses

of each option and select the alternative with the most strengths
and weaknesses.
5. Select and justify the solution that best solves the

dilemma:This step makes a selection. You need to choose the
best option.
[)
Citizenship Education Grade 8 Student textbook 9
Virtue ethics
Rather than focusing on following rules, the emphasis in virtue

ethics is on developing oneself as a good person. For example,
suppose you were given the opportunity to donate to a charity.
Donating, according to virtue ethicists, is the type of action that a
virtuous person would take. Another example is deciding whether
to lie or tell the truth; virtue ethicists ask whether they want to
be honest or dishonest. Virtue ethicists’ value being a person who
is honest, trustworthy, and generous, as well as other virtues that
leads to a good life, over one’s ethical duty or obligations.
1.2. The qualities and principles of

virtue ethics

© Define about moral virtues;

© Explain what honesty is;
© Describe the importance of honesty;
© Behave honestly towards friends, teachers and other
people;
It is a known fact that humans enjoy virtue. Virtue, both civic and
moral, is the path that leads to the greatest happiness for humans.
This will lead us to a discussion of the virtue ethics principles and
qualities. Thus, Virtue Ethics can be divided into two categories:
moral virtues and civic virtues. Let us first talk about moral virtues
and the dispositions that go with them.
Moral virtues:refers to behaviours that allow a person to live

reasonably in his or her community, region, or world. Moral virtues
are dispositions that allow a person to live in accordance with their
values. As a result, citizen dispositions conducive to the healthy
functioning of our community at large include the following:

Falsehood laughed that he had tricked everyone and Truth, realising
Falsehood had lied, began to fight him for the cattle. They called
Wind to determine who the cattle belongs to, but Wind could not
determine who the cattle belongs to.
Activity 5
(0 Being truthful in what you say and do is what honesty

entails.
Honesty is a moral quality that entails positive and virtuous charac-
teristics such as being truthful, trustworthy, loyal, fair, and sincere.
Honesty is defined as the behaviour and attitude of not telling or
accepting lies. It is the practice of not stealing or cheating. Be-
ing honest means being loyal to one’s fellow, one’s responsibility,
and one’s country. At home, with our friends, in our community,
at work, and at any other time in our lives, we must all be honest.
Honesty is always admired in the family, among friends, in civ-

il society, and throughout the world. Everyone respects someone
who is truthful. Being regarded as an honest person by society is
one of the best compliments a person can receive in his or her en-
tire life. In today’s society, a lack of honesty is a way for disaster.
Individuals with public responsibility have been observed abusing
public property on occasion. This is dishonesty.
[)
All of these are not characteristics of responsible citizens. Corrup-
tion not only leads to the mismanagement and abuse of resources,
but it also has an impact on people’s minds. As a result, as respon-
sible citizens, we must all fight dishonest and corrupt behaviour.
These are detrimental to progress and development.
Figure 1.3. ‘No to Corruption’.

© Explain what courage is;

© Describe the importance of being courageous;
© Act courageously in individual or public issues.
SE Lhe Spl)
Figure 1.4. Athlete Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele
Courage is the attitude of confronting and dealing with what is

perceived to be difficult or painful rather than avoiding it; it is a
quality of being fearless or brave. It means trying again and again
until you succeed. It is the determination to work hard despite any
odds or obstacles that may exist. Our lives are filled with difficulty.

Only consistent efforts can lead to life success. It is to insist and
be firm in getting something done and not to give up. Nobody can
succeed in life unless they have the courage. There is no shortcut
to success. A courageous person never loses heart despite failing
once or twice. For example, if Thomas Edison, the American in-
ventor who invented the electric light bulb, had given up after fail-
ing many times, this marvellous invention might not have been a
possibility as early as 1879. All great men’s lives were filled with
difficulties and sufferings. They become great and noble as a result
of their battles and victories. We must try again and again until we
achieve our goal. As a result, it is said that courage is the key to all
success.
Case study
Scotland’s king, Robert Bruce, fought against the English for his
country’s freedom. Unfortunately, he was defeated over and over
again. But he didn’t give up. He went to a cave and pondered the
fate of his countryman. Suddenly, he discovered a spider attempt-
ing, again and again, to climb up the wail using his own made net.
After several attempts, the spider finally succeeds in climbing the
wall. Seeing that the English were determined to fight, they jumped
over them. It was on his seventh attempt that he was successful.
3

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At the end of this section, you will be able to:

© Explain what virtue and virtue ethics is ;

Virtue ethics is concerned with the development of one’s character

Virtues are citizen dispositions, habits, or characteristics that are

Citizenship Education Grade 8 Student textbook J

® “A virtue,” or “virtues,” is specific character traits that tend

Citizenship Education Grade 8 Student textbook

Every day, we make decisions. Every morning, moral issues

8 Citizenship Education Grade 8 Student textbook

How do people try to solve ethical issues by making the right

1. Identify the central ethical problem: The first step is to

2. Identify stakeholders and their interests: Determine who

3. Find a possible solution to the dilemma: This step is to

4. Evaluate each solution: Weigh the strengths and weaknesses

5. Select and justify the solution that best solves the

Rather than focusing on following rules, the emphasis in virtue

1.2. The qualities and principles of

10 Citizenship Education Grade 8 Student textbook

© Define about moral virtues;

Moral virtues:refers to behaviours that allow a person to live

Citizenship Education Grade 8 Student textbook 11

(0 Being truthful in what you say and do is what honesty

Honesty is always admired in the family, among friends, in civ-

Figure 1.3. ‘No to Corruption’.

14 Citizenship Education Grade 8 Student textbook

© Explain what courage is;

Figure 1.4. Athlete Tirunesh Dibaba and Kenenisa Bekele

Courage is the attitude of confronting and dealing with what is

Citizenship Education Grade 8 Student textbook 15

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