Are Willy's self-destructive actions caused by an attempt to act ethically?

Willy's self-destructive actions:

• Willy constantly compares himself to others - especially  to his elder brother Ben.
• Denial of his true ability - Willy constantly puts himself down over certain tasks/jobs he can't do and belittles himself over tasks he can do, such as physical tasks (such as when he tells Charley he put up the ceiling he answers 'what's the difference'.)
• Willy cheats on Linda - this not only makes Willy feel guilty but it also ruins his relationship with Biff as he finds out about the affair.
• Willy constantly imposes his dreams upon his sons (Biff and Happy) and so when they fail - such as Biff failing his maths test- he feels as if he himself has failed once more. ' I never in my life told him anything but decent things.'
• Willy is also very self-conflicted and hypocritical, as he wishes he had taken Ben's job offer 'What a mistake. He begged me to go.' BUT then refuses Charely's job offer, 'What the hell are you offering me a job for?'
• Willy is also quite self-deluded at times, we can see this through the stage directions as it suggests a dream like state of Willy's mind, ' The entire setting is wholly, or, in some places, partially transparent.' - therefore suggesting that Willy is harming himself by his refusal of reality.
• Willy also emphasises how much money he earns, 'Well, I - I did - about a hundred eighty gross in Providence. Well, no - it came to - roughly two hundred gross the whole trip.' This harms Willy as overall it will damage is self-esteem as he has to accept that he has earnt less than he first let on.

Hegel's theory:

'In the very attempt to act ethically, they thereby end up not only acting unethically because they are violating the complementary ethical law but moreover destroying themselves. Through this self destruction, however, the original ethical unity of the polis is restored and affirmed.'

So protagonist wants to do something right but does something wrong to achieve it.

Therefore, I believe (certainly when it comes to his children) that Willy's self-destructive actions are caused by an attempt to act ethically. For example, Willy imposes his views and ideals upon his sons, Biff and Happy, which in turn leads to his children becoming and feeling confused about life and what they want. This is shown through stage directions, 'He, like his brother, is lost, but in a different way' and through Happy's achievements of owning his own 'apartment and car' but not feeling happy.

Some may argue that this is unethical of Willy as he is pushing his children into the same fate as him, one full of a sense of failure and lack of achievement. However, I believe that Willy was acting ethically as he truly believes in the American Dream and that hard work in the business world will help you achieve happiness and success, and so therefore he is only trying to set his children on to what he believes is the right path for them achieve a better life.

However, I person feel that some of Willy's self-destructive actions are not caused by an attmept to act ethically, as they appear to be very selfish and have no real cause or need behind them. such as Willy having an affair on Linda. I believe this self-destructive act is not an attempt to act ethically as Linda cares and loves Willy very much, additionally, the affair only ends up hurting people - such as Biff- so Willy can get a slight ego boost.