Virtue Ethics and the Path to Good Character

Introduction: The Challenge of Ethical Theory

Despite the fact that codes of conduct and belief systems permeate everyone's life on an everyday basis, developing a universally acceptable concept of ethics or moral philosophy remains a seemingly impossible task — one that has plagued philosophers and the world's great thinkers since the beginning of time. Over time, a great number of different philosophical theories have arisen. Each has its strengths and weaknesses, and each has enjoyed its own period of popularity. Yet, strangely, despite the fact that some of the world's greatest minds have spent their lives formulating competing theories, the theory that seemingly possesses the greatest degree of validity is also the one with the longest history: virtue ethics.

Core Principles of Virtue Ethics

Virtue ethics was developed as a theory by the ancient Greek philosophers. Aristotle and Plato, in developing their views toward ethics, placed little importance on the rules that people should obey or follow and instead focused on the importance of basic character. At the center of virtue ethics is the concept of the golden mean. The golden mean is the proper balancing of two extremes, which results in a condition known as virtue. Proponents of virtue ethics argue that persons with good character will ultimately make good decisions without any consideration for rules or moral obligations.

For Aristotle and Plato, and all followers of the philosophy of virtue ethics, life is a journey whose ultimate goal is to develop good character and, in the process, rid oneself of bad habits such as greed or anger. Such habits stand in the way of developing good character and must be moderated in order to demonstrate progress as a moral person. For Aristotle and other proponents of virtue ethics, habits such as greed and anger, in moderation, can be useful — but when taken to an extreme they become bad habits and interfere with the development of good character.

The starting point for virtue ethics is a determination of what traits of character make one a good person. Some of these traits, such as courage and generosity, are easily recognized as virtues, but virtue can vary from society to society or individual to individual. What is important in the pursuit of good character is the self-examination that accompanies the process — a process that involves finding a balance between extremes.

The Advantage of a Character-Centered Approach

The great advantage of virtue ethics, and the thing that distinguishes it from all other philosophical approaches, is that it allows individuals to do things not because they ought to — as in Kant's deontological theory — or because it is in their own best interest, as in egoism, but because it is virtuous for them to do so. Decisions in virtue ethics are made as part of the process of developing good character, not because there is any rightness or wrongness involved, or because someone might benefit from deciding one way or another. Decisions are made because they lead one toward developing good character.

One clear advantage of virtue ethics is that it does not force one to ask what should I do? — instead, the question becomes how should I live? The decision-maker does not have to balance relative interests. The proper course of action is what one's character determines it to be. Acting in accordance with one's character will render the proper decision. Followers of Kant are more concerned with moral imperatives, while egoists focus on self-interest. Virtue ethics is concerned with the development of good character because, as good character develops, the correct choices are also made.

Conclusion: Virtue Ethics as a Personal Journey

In the final analysis, all ethical theories have their value and, at times, each seems most valid. In reviewing them, all should be viewed as merely suggestions or ideas, not rigid approaches to making decisions or leading one's life. Life is a process and a journey, and along the way each individual is faced with a multitude of decisions — some easy and some complicated — and there is no one right way of making them.

This is the beauty of virtue ethics. Virtue ethics recognizes that morals and ethics are personal, and that the journey toward attaining goodness will eventually provide the answers as to how to conduct one's life. Once that state of goodness is obtained, ethical decision-making is no longer a problem: one's character will dictate what to do and how to do it. Aristotle was right thousands of years ago, and nothing offered in the interim by the world's greatest thinkers has done anything to invalidate his basic ideas. As long as an individual makes every attempt to be as good a person as he or she can be, the correct decision will ultimately be made.