Warren Petchalonis Grit 798 Journal 2

Virtue Definition

Aristotle describes virtue as a mean between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency. (Ciulla, 2001, p.60) He further explains thatsome vices miss what is right because they are excessive, in feelings or in actions, while virtue finds and chooses what is intermediate. (Ciulla, 2001, p.60) When a mean is discussed, we are referring to the middle ground between to extremes. We can apply this definition to the example of spending money. If someone was spending their money recklessly in a lavish fashion with no concern for the future, this would be and example of excess. If someone was stingy with their money and refused to ever tip on a dinner, this would be an example of deficiency. It is important to note that not every situation with have a virtuous mean. Ciulla (2001, p.60) explains that not every action of feeling admits of the mean. He gives the example that we cannot do well-e.g. By committing adultery with the right woman at the right time in the right way; on the contrary, it is unconditionally that to do any of them is to be in error. (Ciulla, 2001, p.60) On the other hand, the author also points out that there is no excess or deficiency for things such as bravery For these situations you must look within the context of each act or feeling and determine if excess or deficiency exists. If someone is acting bravely, this means that they are not in deficiency which would be cowardice. On the other hand if someone were to act too brave, this means that they would be in the realm of recklessness. This would have that person squarely in the excess camp. If we went back and looked at our adultery example, the act by definition would be one of excess. The mean and how it

relates to adultery would be having a normal satisfying relationship with a spouse, one that is balanced and does not involve a third party. The deficiency would be someone who is in relationship but does not put in the effort to maintain a healthy relationship. This person may be concerned with other matters and not have any attention to their spouse. So while they have not committed adultery, they are still in a deficiency.

Important Ethical Qualities of Leadership An important example that Ciulla describes in the book is the one of the dark side of success. (Ciulla, 2001, p.77) I feel it is very important for leaders to maintain their virtuous nature when climbing the ladder of leadership. If I was in a school system and found that my current principal had risen to his/her rank by unethical means, I would question that principal's ability to lead. In my line of work, so much of our teaching comes down to moral lessons of right and wrong being explain or shown to children. When a student is suspended, we are doing so as a moral lesson to teach the student how to behave in a current society. Furthermore, one of the principal's jobs is to make sure a school community is on virtuous path towards educating children. An example I can think of a principal doing something unethical would that of covering up unethical practices. There was an incident at one of my schools where one student had scratched another student in the face. This should have merited an automatic suspension. What the principal did instead was not punish the student and keep the student in the office for the entire day. The student was out of sight, out of mind, so the problem appeared solved. However, the student learned nothing from the experience and continued to get in trouble until an eventually suspension. This leads me to believe that the principal had not suspended the child to keep our school suspension numbers down, so that it appeared that we were making progress. However, we were doing the opposite. The children had now

seen that the rules were not enforced at first, and only in absolute extreme circumstances. So the children now knew they could get away with a great amount, before a suspension actually came down. Another example would be bad morality that was presented. (Ciulla, 2001, p.84) Often times as a teacher I encounter students who feel very adamantly that they have a strong moral compass. But in fact do not have a grasp on the learned behaviors of morality. As a leader I must show the students why it is not correct to hit a student back, and when certain circumstances are exceptions. I had a student once who said she would hit a boy whenever he bothered her. She would then go out of her way to bother the boy, and as soon as he reacted, she would take it as a threat and begin to fight. The parent of the girl said My girl was threatened, so I let her fight. I had to explain that his daughter caused the fight, and was pulling an act. But acting like she was reacting, she rationalized that she was absolved from any wrongdoing. In reality, she caused the entire incident.

Conclusion Aristotle explained how virtue is a mean between two vices, one of excess and one of deficiency. (Ciulla, 2001, p.60) Ciulla gave us concrete details on how a deficiency and excess can lead to the lose of virtue. Virtue is something which leaders must have present in their lives, or they fail us as leaders. If one succumbs to the dark side of leadership, it is possible you have stunted your growth as a leader and alienated the colleagues under you. The dark side of leadership can then go hand in hand with bad morality. This is reasoning which you claim to making a moral decision, when in fact you are making a decision that is free of virtue. This could be because you lack the conditioning to make a morally satisfying decision. In the end, with the proper conditioning, role models, and life lessons, it is possible for anyone to make a virtuous choice.

References: Giulla, J. B. (2003). The Ethics of Leadership. Belmont, CA: Wadsworth.