POLSCI 497S-1 | Spring 2017

Assignment One

The Virtues of War Politics, Philosophy, & Perception of Military

Service

Assignment One Martial Virtues

In class, we have covered several varying accounts of virtue; Homeric and Aristotelian Greek virtues,
Republican (Ciceronian) Roman virtues, and Thomistic Medieval virtues. MacIntyre also outlines additional
accounts of virtue found in the Christian New Testament and those authored by Benjamin Franklin and Jane
Austen (in chapter 14). What each account has in common is a telos, an imagined end toward which virtuous
characters orient the story and moral structure of their lives: Homers Heroic Warrior, Aristotles Athenian
Gentleman, Christianitys Conquered Lamb, Franklins Rational Deist, and Austens British Naval Spouse.
(186) MacIntyre defines a virtue as an acquired human quality the possession [and habituation] of which
tends to enable us to achieve social goods. (191)

We spoke in class, with Gen. Martin Dempsey, of Patriotism as an example of one sphere of action, which
you may include in your account, but between which two vices is it the noble mean? What other noble means
you would name, what sphere of action (spirit) do they represent, what name would you give to its vices (both
deficiency and excess), and why? Keep in mind that, to name the good martial life, it would help to outline
what may be meant by the good soldier as a character constitutive of the modern American polis.

PROMPT: What virtues are socially embodied with particular excellence by modern armed service?
What vices between which would they hinge? What characterizes The Good Soldier and how does
she or he fit within the wider narrative moral structure within which Americans are embedded?

Write a paper of no less than 3000 words, the purpose of which is to conduct a thoughtful, concise attempt
to identify distinctive moral features of martial identity. Your paper is neither a summary of texts nor a
statement of your feelings. Rather, your paper should be a guided exploration of the key issues involved in
virtue ethics applied to armed service in the modern American context. Your essay must have a thesis that
addresses the prompt. You must support your argument with evidence from the sources mentioned
in the prompt. Provide parenthetical citations where appropriate.
SUBMIT BY EMAIL NLT FEBRUARY 23RD @ 1505 (3:05PM)