Dolphin
Senior Member (Voting Rights)
Virtues that Mitigate the Deprivations of Chronic Fatigue Syndrome
Robert J. HartmanIn Eric J. Silverman, Virtuous Responses to Suffering, Tragedy, and Evil. Routledge (forthcoming) Copy BIBTEX
Abstract
Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) is an invisible disability.It is a condition of overwhelming fatigue that can last for years with various other symptoms including, most importantly, post-exertion malaise.
I offer my own experience with CFS and the experience of others to explain its staggering deprivations: CFS greatly reduces the scope of access to objective goods; it greatly diminishes autonomy about their realization; it creates hardships that tend to end or diminish friendships; it tends to habituate in ways that mitigate inner peace and corrupt good character; and it diminishes bodily health.
With those serious deprivations in view, I explain how various virtues can recapture some degrees of well-being lost from CFS and how their corresponding vices magnify its deprivations.
The virtues of humility, patience, prudence, courage, and hope mitigate the deprivations of CFS and promote well-being.
The vices of pride, impatience, impulsiveness, thoughtlessness, inconstancy, rashness, cowardice, presumption, and despair compound its deprivations.
Categories
Applied Virtue Ethics in Normative EthicsDisability and Well-Being in Applied Ethics
Physical Disabilities in Applied Ethics
Virtues and Vices in Normative Ethics