Moral Character

Moral character is perhaps best described as the totality of a person’s dispositions or characteristics that play a role in how the person, morally speaking, behaves.  To put it another way, to have a particular moral character is to have (or to lack) certain virtues and vices of character.

In the Western philosophical tradition, the concept of moral character is most often associated with Virtue Ethics, dating back to Aristotle, but also including such figures as Augustine and St. Thomas Aquinas.  The concept of moral character and its importance in moral life is not, however, a uniquely Western phenomenon.  Non-Western philosophers – notably Confucius – have also emphasized the importance of character (and, indeed, the virtues).

Since a person’s character consists in his or her dispositions to act in certain ways, the development of good habits (both habits of thought and action) is essential to the formation of good character.  For this reason moral education is emphasized in connection with moral character.