VIRTUE-BASED ETHICAL THEORY
WHAT makes a person ethically good? Acting Virtuously in Accordance with a
Virtuous Character
1. Exercising the capacity to do what is right given the totality of the
circumstances in accordance with a virtuous disposition and practical wisdom.
2. Habituating oneself to making excellent contextual ethical judgments –
morally good acts are done out of a firm disposition to act in such ways.
WHY virtues?
1. Virtues (aretes) focus attention upon the whole person in the activity of trying
to live a good life (eudaimonia).
2. Achieving eudaimonia requires developing a virtuous character – it is
insufficient to merely do virtuous actions.
3. Developing a virtuous character requires one to habituate virtuous actions.
WHICH actions are virtuous? Actions that are in accordance with a virtuous
character and in accordance with practical wisdom, given the totality of the specific
context.
1. Virtuous actions are analogous to those of moral exemplars.
2. The agent of the action must desire to achieve right action, both in the
instance and as a habit (the agent chooses to do what is morally good because
it is morally good) and
4. Virtuous actions conform to practical wisdom in consideration of the totality
of the circumstances
HOW do we test whether an action is virtuous or not?
1. Doctrine of the Mean Test: Determine a virtuous mean between a vice of
excess and a vice of deficiency.
For example, a vice of excess gives to much weight to the emotions & a vice
of deficiency gives to little weight to the emotions)
2. Determined the virtuous mean and the relevant vices of excess and
deficiency by practical reason applied to the totality of circumstances:
Prime examples:
• Courage as virtue = middle course between rashness & cowardice
• Ambition as virtue = middle course between "slacker" & "climber"
Additional Notes:
1. Plato and especially Aristotle are considered the founders of virtue ethics
(which has even more ancient roots Chinese philosophy)
2. Possible objections to virtue ethics include a lack of specific universal moral
rules, reliance of the vague concept of practical wisdom, and issues of cultural
relativism (Plato owned slaves, and Aristotle viewed slavery as natural –
slavery per se not considered a vice in Greece of their era).
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