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Contemporary Virtue Ethics

By Karen Stohr

Types of Virtue Ethics

• Agent-based: a right-action is defined in terms of a virtuous agent. This is a fully agent- centered ethical theory.

• Agent-prior: agent-evaluations are not the most fundamental concept, but derive evaluations by evaluating agents.

• Agent-focused: emphasizes character traits over rules and principles

Aristotle’s Influence

• Aristotle’s virtue ethics are perhaps agent- prior.

• For Aristotle virtue requires particular actions and particular emotional responses.

– Emotions should allows the virtuous person to correctly view the world and understand it.

• The doctrine of the mean: a virtuous action is the mean between excess and deficienty.

• Practical wisdom is necessary to acquire the virtues and the virtues are necessary to acquire practical wisdom.

• In order to live well humans must fulfill their natural purpose.

– Fulfilling one’s purpose means that one is acting in accordance with one’s design.

Virtue & Flourishing

• The question is whether one who acts virtuously will flourish? Or can one flourish despite not acting virtuously?

– According to Aristotle the virtuous individual will live well and flourish.

• Some theories of virtue identify virtue with empathy towards other persons.

– There is not a connection between virtue and living well.

Some General Issues

• Virtue ethics do not supply rules or procedures for ethical deliberation.

• Virtue ethics suggests that some moral dilemmas might be irresolvable.

– Moral luck might be a fundamental feature of morality.

Three Contemporary Trends

1. Separating virtuous individuals from living well; that is, someone can be virtuous and not flourish.

2. The prevalence of virtue ethics in medical ethics, environmental ethics, and business ethics.

3. The development of a conception of character and how that relates to virtue.