According to Aristotle, he defined virtue as a form of second nature which makes humans make the proper choices and also derive pleasure from doing this. A virtue is a morally good quality in a person that is desirable to other people (Van Hooft, 2014). , on the other hand, can be defined as an array of qualities in a person that distinguishes them from the rest of the people. For a society to thrive in harmony, character and virtues play as the moral guides in shaping up the society.
Action Comparison of Father Kolbe and the 38 Witnesses
The thirty-eight neighboring witnesses who watched or listened as Kitty Genovese was brutally murdered in a three separate attack, thirty-five-minute struggle exhibited signs of lacking virtue ethics in entirety, which advocate for doing the correct thing with proper motivations and emotions in doing the right thing and being good in general. Despite none of them attempting to call the police to save Genovese from her assaulter, just one other woman stepped up to testify. The only logical answers they seemed to provide for not acting were either they didn’t know, they were tired, or they were afraid.
Father Kolbe on the other hand, he was a selfless, caring and opinionated man. Having been jailed for standing up against the Nazis, in prison, he went ahead to offer his life for a fellow prisoner, because he was an old man with no purpose in life as compared to the prisoner who had a wife and children dependent on him. Father Kolbe cared to know this fellow inmate well to know that he was Polish and about his family. Having been set at the jaws of death was not going to stir Father Kolbe’s character, and in the dark basement with the other prisoners, he continued to be their leader, calming the others and aiding them to face their deaths peacefully before he died.
An opinionated character and having virtues are the key ingredients to decision making for not only an individual but also for people involved in the surrounding of this individual. And these decisions on most cases are for the good of the general people involved. Contrary to Father Kolbe, the thirty-eight witnesses to Genovese’s murder lacked that extra push or the opinionated character to either shout at the assailant or go to Genovese’s aid, regardless of them not being faced with the immediate threat to their lives as Father Kolbe was. It should have been tremendously difficult for Father Kolbe to offer his life for another prisoner as compared to taking the phone and calling the police to save Genovese’s life, but to Father Kolbe, he gave no second thought about it.
Traditionally, virtues have been divided into two, moral and non-moral virtues and unlike the thirty-eight witnessed, Father Kolbe portrayed both of these. He had the moral virtues of kindness and caring nature and also non-moral virtues of courage and endurance.
Conclusion
Good character or virtues are important in managing or reducing the probability of having negative outcomes in a particular situation and also to promote a healthy developing and thriving of members of society (Park and Peterson, 2009). These are also associated with having reduced social and psychological problems. It is the responsibility of each one of us to learn and embrace a good character and virtues in our day to day activities for the betterment of society.
References
Park, N., " Peterson, C. (2009). Character strengths: Research and practice. Journal of college and character, 10(4).
Van Hooft, S. (2014). Understanding virtue ethics. Routledge.
