As Aristotle famously said, "We are what we repeatedly do. Excellence, then, is not an act, but a habit." But what if this idea doesn't hold up for beings who aren't static, fixed entities like humans but instead dynamic ones whose very nature is to change and evolve? In this essay, I will explore how different ethical theories conceptualize virtue when applied to subjects that resist categorization - namely becoming, rather than being.
Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics is a branch of moral philosophy that focuses on the character traits and habits of individuals, rather than their actions. It emphasizes the cultivation of virtues such as courage, honesty, compassion, and generosity through practice and reflection. The key insight of virtue ethics is that these traits are not simply means to an end, but they themselves constitute the good life. By developing these qualities, we become better people and lead more fulfilling lives.
This approach assumes that there are stable identities or categories into which individuals fit.
A person can either be honest or dishonest, brave or cowardly, selfless or selfish. But what happens when someone's identity is in flux, constantly shifting between multiple categories?
Relationship Ethics
Relationship ethics offers one way to address this problem by focusing on the quality of our relationships with others. This approach emphasizes the importance of caring for others and building healthy connections based on mutual respect, trust, empathy, and communication.
It also assumes a certain stability of identity and role in each relationship. What happens when one person's identity changes over time, making them less predictable or reliable in their interactions? How do we build lasting relationships when both partners are always changing?
Feminist Ethics
Feminist ethics challenges traditional views of gender, sexuality, and power dynamics, arguing that these concepts are socially constructed and change over time. It highlights how women, queer folks, and other marginalized groups have historically been excluded from moral discourse and calls for a new ethical framework that centers their experiences.
It too relies on stable categories like "woman," "man," and "gay" to make its point. What happens when those categories are no longer fixed but subject to constant transformation? How does feminist ethics account for fluid identities and ever-evolving boundaries?
Postmodern Ethics
Postmodernism rejects all claims to universal truth or objective reality, viewing knowledge as contingent and contextual. It argues that meaning is created through language and social construction rather than discovered through reason or observation. But what happens when people continually redefine themselves and their worlds through speech and action? Does postmodernism provide a way to account for shifting identities and subjectivities? Or does it simply reinforce the instability and uncertainty of becoming?
Virtue ethics, relationship ethics, feminist ethics, and postmodern ethics each have something to offer when applied to subjects who resist categorization. Virtue ethics emphasizes the importance of cultivating positive habits and traits, while relationship ethics focuses on building healthy connections based on trust and communication. Feminist ethics challenges traditional notions of gender and power, while postmodernism questions the very notion of truth and objectivity.
They all assume a certain stability in identity and experience that may be lacking in beings who are always becoming. We must ask ourselves: how do we live virtuous lives without falling into simplistic dichotomies between good and bad, right and wrong, true and false? And how do we build lasting relationships with partners whose identities change over time? The answers to these questions require a deeper understanding of the nature of being itself - one that goes beyond fixed categories and stable identities.
What happens to ethical theories of virtue when the subject is not a stable being but a becoming that resists categorization?
According to various philosophers, ethics can be understood as a set of guidelines for leading an optimal life. The idea of "becoming" challenges this assumption because it suggests that individuals are constantly changing and evolving, which means that their values and beliefs may also change over time. Therefore, traditional ethical theories based on fixed moral principles may become less relevant in such a dynamic context.