Virtue Ethics

Virtue ethics takes its philosophical root in the work of the ancient Greek philosopher Aristotle.   Virtue theories claim that ethics is about agents, not actions or consequences.  Living an ethical, or good life, then, consists in the possession of the right character traits (virtues) and having, as a result, the appropriate moral character.

Unlike deontological accounts, which focus on learning and, subsequently, living by moral rules, virtue accounts place emphasis on developing good habits of character.  In essence, this means developing virtuous character traits – dispositions to act in a certain way – and avoiding bad character traits, or vices of character.

Character traits commonly regarded as virtues include courage, temperance, justice, wisdom, generosity, and good temper (as well as many others).  This approach to normative ethics also emphasizes moral education.  Since traits of character are developed in youth, adults are responsible for instilling in their children the appropriate dispositions.

Objections to virtue ethics:

(1)  The first difficulty, which any virtue theorist must surmount is figuring out which characteristics count as virtues (and which count as vices).  Given that different cultures sometimes hold different traits of character to be virtuous, it seems that virtue ethical theories are susceptible to the difficulties involved with cultural relativism.

(2)  It also seems that virtuous characteristics can be exhibited even when the actions carried out are immoral.  Courage, for example, is often regarded as a virtue, but can there not be courageous bank robbers?  It certainly seems that a bank robber could exhibit courage while robbing a bank, yet we generally agree that robbing is morally wrong.

This consequence is problematic because the aim of any normative theory is to arrive at standards, or norms, of behavior for living a moral life.  In the case of the courageous bank robber, it seems that the bank robber lives according to the standard set by virtue ethics (that is, he acts courageously) but his behavior is nevertheless immoral.

It may be suggested in response to this objection that the courageous bank robber, though meeting the requirements of the virtue of courage, fails to live according to the standard set by some other virtue – for example, honesty.  This response, however, only serves to highlight another objection to virtue ethics – competing virtues.

(3)  Virtue theories encounter problems with moral dilemmas in which two (or more) virtues conflict.  In other words, the requirements of one virtue may be opposed, or contradictory, to the requirements of another.  The requirements of honesty, for example, require us to tell the truth, even if it is hurtful.  The virtues of kindness or compassion, on the other hand, point to remaining silent, or perhaps even lying, in order to avoid harm.