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Virtue ethics

An approach to ethics that gives central importance to character, practical wisdom and human flourishing.

thoughtInterpretation
IN PLAIN LANGUAGE

Virtue ethics asks what a good or practically wise person would notice, feel and do—not only which rule applies or which outcome has the highest total value.

What “Interpretation” means

This is a philosophical distinction, theory or contested way of organizing a question—not an empirical diagnosis with one universally accepted answer.

Marker-board illustration created specifically to explain Virtue ethics: An approach to ethics that gives central importance to character, practical wisdom and human flourishing.VISUAL EXPLANATION · MARKER BOARD
An approach to ethics that gives central importance to character, practical wisdom and human flourishing.
EXAMPLE

Helping a person can be understood as an expression of generosity and practical wisdom.

COMMON CONFUSION

Virtue ethics is not merely following admirable people; it is a theory about dispositions, judgment and flourishing.

ASK YOURSELF

What kind of character and practical judgment would this repeated choice cultivate?

RELATED CONCEPTS
thoughtConsequentialism

A family of moral theories that evaluates choices centrally by the value of their consequences.

thoughtDeontology

A family of moral theories centered on duties, permissions, prohibitions or rights rather than consequences alone.

thoughtThought experiment

A deliberately imagined scenario used to clarify a concept, test a principle or explore consequences.

References

Last reviewed

  1. 01
    Virtue Ethics

    Rosalind Hursthouse and Glen Pettigrove · Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy

    Character-centered ethics compared with rules and consequences.
    Reference source
What the source labels mean
Primary source
Original work, experiment, standard or historical text.
Academic source
Scholarly research or review published for an academic audience.
Reference source
An expert standard, encyclopedia or institutional explanation that summarizes a field.
General reference
A practical specialist resource useful for application, but not treated as decisive research by itself.