Rosalind Hursthouse's Virtue Theory And Abortion
In her essay “Virtue Theory and Abortion,” Rosalind Hursthouse analyzes the issue of abortion viewed through the lens of virtue theory. Hursthouse doesn’t attempt to provide an answer to questions concerning the legality of abortion or when life begins but these issues combined with emotion and reasoning factor into her theories on “. . . the rightness or wrongness of abortion” (164). Hursthouse examines the agent’s circumstances and reasoning (practical wisdom) at the time of conception. She also considers the agent’s feelings such like callousness or remorse towards the procedure. Her purpose is to theorize how virtue ethics can be applied to determine whether under certain circumstances abortion could be deemed something a virtuous person may choose.
Hursthouse acknowledges there are other factors, which must be considered because abortion is not just any regular medical issue, it has a whole range of emotional factors that are generally considered relevant. Theses relevant factors are life, death, and familial relationships and how the woman places value on these concepts (164). There is also weight given to the different perceptions people have with regards to the
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Hursthouse answers this criticism by interpreting Aristotle wisdom, “. . . that moral knowledge cannot be acquired by attending lectures, nor can we find it in people with little experience of life” (162). She reasons that moral growth relies on wisdom, which is found through the act of living and acquiring knowledge. A person may not make the same choices at middle age, as they would have made when they were a young adult. This is a major facet in an agent trying to become a virtuous person and acquiring this knowledge will help them to make virtuous decisions, which should become more natural and effortless as the agent moves through
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1529 Words | 7 PagesRosalind Hursthouse in her paper Virtue Theory and Abortion, handles with the moral standpoint of abortion from a virtue ethics perspective. Her research is directed towards investigating whether or not an abortion is something a virtuous person would do. Hursthouse examines the morally relevant considerations and in so doing, she rejects the standard questions used to determine the morality of an abortion such as the status of the fetus, and the rights of a women. The morally relevant considerations she sees fit to assess the moral legitimacy of an abortion are concerns with family relationship, personal circumstance, and basic biological facts. Through her considerations, Hurthouses account of virtue ethics gives us adequate moral advice in regards to the question of abortion.
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