Ethical Obligations and Decision-Making in Accounting 2nd Edition by Steven Mintz, Roselyn Morris

Exercise 2

The following two statements about virtue were made by noted philosophers/writers:

a.MacIntyre, in his account of Aristotelian virtue, states that integrity is the one trait of character that encompasses all the others. How does integrity relate to, as MacIntrye said, “the wholeness of a human life”?

b.David Starr Jordan (1851–1931), an educator and writer, said, “Wisdom is knowing what to do next; virtue is doing it.” Explain the meaning of this phrase as you see it.

Step 1 of 2

a.

The Aristotelian virtues are characteristics that Aristotle believes make up an ethical person. In particular, Aristotle points out four cardinal virtues, prudence, temperance, courage, and justice.

The philosopher stated believes all other virtues can be encompassed by integrity. To have integrity is to be true to oneself and honest to others. This is an important ethic because not only does it state someone should have virtues but they must believe in their own virtues and act accordingly.