A nurse named Paul is working in an assisted living facility and has a patient named Flo, who is suffering from Alzheimer's disease. The patient has significant memory loss. One day, she wakes up in emotional distress, looking for her husband, Ernie. Paul knows that Ernie has been dead for ten years. Paul recognizes that telling the Floe her husband is dead will only cause further distress. However, he feels conflicted about lying to her.
Respond to one of the following prompts:
According to Virtue Ethics and its core principles (telos, virtue, eudaimonia, and practical wisdom), would it be morally permissible for Paul to lie or deceive Flo about her husband, Ernie? How might this affect Paul’s character? How might this affect Flo’s character? What effect will lying or deception have on the community and the trust within it? Will this lying or deceiving align with our proper function as humans? Use appropriate textual evidence to back up your claim. (USLOs 2.1, 2.2, 2.3)
According to Virtue ethics and its core principles (telos, virtue, eudaimonia, and practical wisdom), how might we use prudential reasoning to decide what is morally permissible? Which cardinal virtues (i.e., Justice, Temperance, Fortitude, and Prudence) should we appeal to in this case? Is there a solution where we can satisfy all the cardinal virtues? Use appropriate textual evidence to back up your claim. (USLOs 2.1, 2.2, 2.3)
(e.g., "He's stepped out for a bit, but he'll be back later," or engaging her in a comforting activity), Paul is aiming for the best possible short-term state of flourishing for Flo—one defined by peace and reduced suffering. In this limited context, prioritizing compassion over brutal honesty aligns with the pursuit of her eudaimonia.
2. Effect on Paul’s Character and Virtue
Virtue Ethics is primarily concerned with the moral agent's character. Paul's decision must reflect a virtuous mean.
Lying as a Vice: Aristotle viewed truthfulness as a virtue. Habitual lying (the vice of deficiency) would erode Paul’s character, making him less trustworthy. However, the deception here is not for Paul's gain or to manipulate, but for the patient's well-being.
The Mean: A truly virtuous act lies between two extremes (vices).
Vice of Deficiency (Insensitivity/Cruelty): Immediately and repeatedly telling Flo the harsh truth, causing avoidable distress.
Vice of Excess (Mendacity/Carelessness): Habitually lying to everyone for all reasons.
The Virtuous Mean: Employing a compassionate, gentle deception or redirection, which demonstrates the virtues of Compassion/Benevolence (caring for her emotional state) and Practical Wisdom (knowing the appropriate way to act in this specific situation).
Effect on Paul’s Character: If Paul acts from a place of genuine compassion and benevolence, the act of gentle deception, guided by practical wisdom (the knowledge of how to apply virtue), strengthens his character as a good nurse. His actions reinforce the habit of prioritizing patient comfort and minimizing harm, which are core professional virtues.
3. Effect on Flo’s Character
Paul’s deception is unlikely to affect Flo’s character because her severe Alzheimer's has compromised her capacity for rational moral development.
Impact: The action affects her well-being (reducing distress) but not her moral agency. She is not able to recognize, evaluate, or respond to the deception in a way that shapes her future virtuous actions. Her experience is one of emotional comfort, which is the immediate therapeutic goal.
4. Effect on Community and Trust
This action, if revealed, presents a challenge to trust, but one that is generally understood and accepted within the healthcare community.
Public Trust: The nursing community's proper function (telos) includes not just honesty, but also non-maleficence (do no harm) and beneficence (do good). When the truth directly and significantly conflicts with non-maleficence, the latter often takes precedence, particularly with patients lacking full cognitive capacity.
Practical Wisdom in the Community: The community of care (staff, family, management) often recognizes and approves of these compassionate deceptions (often termed therapeutic lying or validation therapy). If Paul’s peers and supervisors agree that his action was a skillful use of practical wisdom to minimize a patient's suffering, the action reinforces the community’s trust in his compassionate competence, even if it technically violated a rule of absolute honesty.
5. Alignment with Proper Function as Humans
Proper Function: Aristotle held that the proper function of a human being is activity of the soul in accordance with reason and virtue. This is the pathway to eudaimonia.
Alignment: For Paul, the decision is a highly rational act—a calculated choice to minimize suffering based on his knowledge of the patient's condition. It is a virtuous act because it flows from the rational application of compassion. It demonstrates that he is using his reason (phronesis or practical wisdom) to execute his role as a carer with the right feelings, at the right time, and in the right way. Therefore, the decision does align with his proper function as a rational, virtuous human being whose professional telos is to care.
Sample Answer
Virtue Ethics Analysis of Deceiving a Patient with Alzheimer's
According to Virtue Ethics, specifically the Aristotelian framework, Paul's decision to deceive Flo about her deceased husband, Ernie, would likely be considered morally permissible if it is a choice made through practical wisdom that aims toward the patient’s well-being, which, in this context, aligns with the ultimate goal of eudaimonia (human flourishing).
1. Telos (End Goal) and Eudaimonia (Flourishing)
Telos: The ultimate telos, or end goal, for all humans is eudaimonia, often translated as human flourishing or a life well-lived. For a patient with severe Alzheimer's like Flo, her capacity for rational autonomy and long-term memory is severely compromised. Her immediate, rational end is the cessation of distress and the experience of comfort and calm.
Permissibility: Telling Flo the truth—that her husband has been dead for ten years—causes immense, repeated, and unnecessary grief. This actively detracts from her remaining capacity for eudaimonia. By choosing to redirect or comfort her with a gentle deception