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LANCE ARMSTRONG AND THE SCARLET C

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 December 2013

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Abstract

Cyclist Lance Armstrong cheated his way to seven Tour de France ‘victories’. Such cheating is wrong because it harms society. To explain how that harm affects all of us, I use Aristotle's ideas of virtue ethics to argue that Armstrong, despite his charitable work, is not a virtuous person. Virtue is to some extent determined by society, so we need to be clear that Armstrong is not a person to emulate. A society which does not clearly disapprove of vice is less than it might otherwise be because a good society is one that encourages virtue in its citizens.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy 2014 

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References

Note

Without an admission from Lance Armstrong that he used banned substances in his seven TdF wins, or of photographs of him in the act, we cannot be certain that he cheated. Ten reasons which support the view Armstrong cheated are given in Bicycling magazine: http://www.bicycling.com/news/pro-cycling/you-jury (accessed 2012 09 17)