Military and Virtue Ethics
A military platoon is on a rescue mission. Two of their men are trapped on a hill and under fire. Both men were seriously wounded and would be dead within a few hours if not rescued. A minefield lies in between the platoon and the men obscuring the only rescue path. The lieutenant notices a civilian walking through the minefield, clearly walking around the mines as though he knew where each one lay. After detaining the civilian it becomes clear that he has no intention of helping the platoon get across the minefield safely. Should the lieutenant violate the laws of war and torture the individual into telling him so that his men might die? Major Tony Pfaff uses this example to illustrate his article on virtue ethics in the military versus other rule-based methods. This dilemma would be relatively simple to solve based upon a utilitarian viewpoint—you would do what ultimately benefit the most people while at the same time minimizing unhappiness to others. Kantian theory would throw a red flag at the prospect of using the ci
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Some common words found in the essay are:
According Pfaff, Tony Pfaff, , virtue ethics, special virtues, morally valuable, kantian theory, regardless feels, virtuous person, act morally,
Approximate Word count = 700
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)
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