Finally ,and paradoxically ,one of the benefits of philosophical ethics is an
awareness of its own limitations. Being philosophically skilled is not the same as
being a good person. There may be some philosophers who believe that a full
ethical theory would be sufficient to determine what should be done in every set of
circumstances ,but no-one could think that this would be enough to make it
happen. How would this perfect knowledge become embodied in practice? We all
know that it is possible ,sometimes all too easy ,not to do what we regard as the
right thing. For these reasons philosophers have to take an interest in character as
well as in actions. What is it that makes people more or less likely to understand
ethical demands ,and to be inclined or disposed to meet them?
2.6 Being a good nurse
One tradition of philosophical ethics ,which is concerned with the virtues' ,sees these questions about character as being at the heart of ethics. The tradition is usually associated with Aristotle's ethical writings but it is a thread that runs through all of ethics. The idea ofvirtues' may seem old fashioned but it is a useful
name for good qualities of character ,in particular for admirable or desirable
dispositions. To encourage children to do the right thing' we need not only to help them know what the right thing is but also to enable them to want to do it; pre- ferably for it to become a habit orsecond nature'. The same goes for all of us.
It would be no exaggeration to say that nurse education and development is
about the cultivation of desirable dispositions as well as the transmission of
clinical skills. Some of these dispositions relate to professional attitudes and
behaviour ± such as research awareness ± but underpinning them all is a
disposition to care for patients or clients ,the habit of paying attention to and
responding to needs. Unless a nurse has this quality she cannot be ,except in very
restricted circumstances ,a good nurse. And this skill' of caring is intrinsic to ethics ,it is not like other skills which may be used in good or bad ways. In fact caring is viewed by some as the pivotal concept of feminist ethics [9]. Caring does not necessarily mean a self-conscious emotional empathy or identification; there may be many instances where nurses are too tired or stressed tofeelcaring. The whole point of talking about a desirabledispositionis to make clear that an attitude which is rooted in feelings will persist even when the requisite feelings are absent. It would be an interesting ,and perhaps useful ,exercise to ask a group of experienced nurses to list the virtues necessary for nursing. At one time the Christian virtues of faith ,hope and charity might have headed the list. Nowadays most people are likely to think of ideas like honesty or integrity ,whereas ideas like patience or loyalty might be more controversial. One thing is clear ± as the conditions of nursing change a different balance of virtues is called for. No doubt humility is a good quality but as the pressures of individual accountability increase it needs to be tempered by courage and resolution. We all have some conception of what it is to be a good nurse. We can look at role models and try to identify which aspects of their character we admire. In this way we can set ourselves standards. It is essential to note the difference betweensetting standards' for ourselves as
individuals and the public kinds of standard setting which have become increas-
28 NursingLawandEthics