Virtue ethics
From the 4th century BCE; revived in the 20th century
The approach to ethics that asks not 'what should I do?' but 'what kind of person should I be?'
The core idea
Virtue ethics begins with Aristotle. Every human being aims at eudaimonia, flourishing, and we flourish by developing the virtues: stable traits such as courage, justice, temperance, honesty and practical wisdom. Right action is what a virtuous person would characteristically do in the circumstances.
Virtues are learned through practice and habit, and applying them takes judgement, not a formula. That is why virtue ethicists stress moral education, role models and the shape of a whole life.
After centuries in which ethics was dominated by rules and consequences, the approach was revived in the mid-twentieth century by Elizabeth Anscombe, Philippa Foot (who also invented the trolley problem) and Alasdair MacIntyre. Confucian ethics is often discussed as a parallel tradition.
What they hold
- The central question of ethics is how to live and what kind of person to become.
- Virtues are good character traits that are both admirable and part of living well.
- Moral judgement depends on practical wisdom, not mechanical rules.
- A good life is a flourishing life, judged as a whole.
The main criticisms
Critics argue that 'do what a virtuous person would do' gives little guidance in hard cases, especially when virtues seem to conflict. Others ask whose idea of flourishing counts, and point to psychological research suggesting that behaviour depends more on situations than on stable character traits.
“All men by nature desire to know.”
Aristotle, Metaphysics I.1, trans. W. D. Ross
Key figures
Where it comes up
Further reading
- EncyclopediaStanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Virtue Ethics
- WikipediaVirtue ethics