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)
Practical Wisdom (Phronesis): Paul must use practical wisdom to determine the virtuous action. A rigid adherence to the rule of "never lie" (a deontological view) would be callous in this context. Practical wisdom dictates that the highest virtue in this specific situation is compassion over absolute honesty. Paul’s reasoning: "Telling the truth will cause severe, unnecessary, and unrecallable emotional distress, while a gentle redirection will alleviate suffering." This choice prioritizes the patient's immediate and real-world suffering (or lack thereof) over an abstract moral rule.
The act is not a deception meant to gain personal advantage, but a therapeutic communication aimed at an excellent end: the patient's peace. Therefore, a virtuous person, guided by compassion, would likely choose the path of gentle reassurance or redirection.
Effect on Paul’s Character
The effect on Paul's character would depend on his intent and whether the deception becomes a general habit.
Positive Effect: If Paul acts with the clear intention of compassion (a virtue) and patience, this specific act would strengthen those virtues in his character. He is demonstrating the ability to use practical wisdom to moderate the virtue of honesty with the virtue of charity, proving he is becoming a more excellent nurse and a more virtuous person. He chooses the "mean" between the vice of brutal honesty (cruelty) and the vice of habitual deceit (dishonesty).
Negative Effect: If Paul uses the situation as a justification for casual lying in all contexts, or if the deception is done cynically without genuine compassion, it could erode the virtue of honesty and make him prone to cutting ethical corners. However, in this specific, tragic, and non-self-serving context, the action primarily reinforces his core professional virtues.
Sample Answer
Virtue Ethics Analysis: Lying to Flo for Compassionate Care
According to Virtue Ethics, Paul's action must be evaluated not by rigid rules or consequences, but by whether it demonstrates the character traits (virtues) of a morally excellent person, which ultimately leads to a flourishing life (Eudaimonia).
Morally Permissible Action
It would likely be morally permissible for Paul to use a compassionate deception or lie to Flo about her husband, Ernie, because the act, when guided by the specific virtue of compassion or charity, aligns with the telos (proper function/goal) of nursing and humanity.
Telos (Goal/Function): The telos of a human being, as articulated by Aristotle, is to live according to reason, aiming for Eudaimonia (human flourishing). In the specific context of nursing, the telos is to promote the patient's well-being and alleviate suffering. For a patient with severe Alzheimer's, whose reality is fragile and whose ability to reason is impaired, confronting her with the traumatic truth of a ten-year-old death serves no purpose toward her flourishing and actively causes harm.