Military and Virtue Ethics

A military platoon is on a rescue mission. Two of their men are trapped on a hill and under fire. Both men were seriously wounded and would be dead within a few hours if not rescued. A minefield lies in between the platoon and the men obscuring the only rescue path. The lieutenant notices a civilian walking through the minefield, clearly walking around the mines as though he knew where each one lay. After detaining …

…offers no ‘virtuous’ answer to that question, for that would be very hard to determine. He only states that the decision must instantiate all virtues to be morally correct. Particularly when you have a no-win situation like this one, doing what makes you the better person is the desirable outcome. The goal is not the virtuous decision but rather the virtuous person. It is not “being a good leader,” but rather “being” a good leader.