Virtue ethics is one of three major approaches in normative ethics, alongside deontology and consequentialism. Rather than deriving right action from rules or from consequences, it places character and the virtues, excellences such as courage, justice and practical wisdom, at the foundation of moral theory. Aristotle is its founding figure in the Western tradition, with the concepts of arete (virtue), phronesis (practical wisdom) and eudaimonia (flourishing) still shaping the contemporary revival of the approach.
Facts
Disputed
Start YearThe Stanford Encyclopedia names both Plato and Aristotle as the tradition Western founding figures and Confucius and Mencius as founders of the distinct Eastern tradition, so no single year commands consensus; -350 marks the conventional dating of Aristotle own systematic treatment in the Nicomachean Ethics. Founded DateThe DATE column cannot hold the -350 BCE start-year already on record for Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. This instead dates the SEP-documented 20th-century revival of virtue ethics as a named field after Elizabeth Anscombe's 1958 essay, the same later-milestone convention this atlas already uses for BCE-founded schools (see charvaka). RegionThis entity covers the Western lineage of virtue ethics. Confucianism, covering the parallel Eastern lineage the same source traces to Mencius and Confucius, is a separate school entity in this atlas. Connections
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Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
In Branch
Source Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Sources
1. Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
Stanford University, Center for the Study of Language and Informationentry: Virtue Ethics, Introduction
Virtue ethics is currently one of three major approaches in normative ethics. It may, initially, be identified as the one that emphasizes the virtues, or moral character, in contrast to the approach that emphasizes duties or rules (deontology) or that emphasizes the consequences of actions (consequentialism).
Virtue Ethics entry, Section 3(b)
One might choose, instead, to work with aretaic concepts (defined in terms of virtues and vices).
Virtue Ethics entry, Section 1, Preliminaries
It was heralded by Anscombe's famous article "Modern Moral Philosophy" (Anscombe 1958) which crystallized an increasing dissatisfaction with the forms of deontology and utilitarianism then prevailing.
Virtue Ethics entry, Preliminaries
In the West, virtue ethics' founding fathers are Plato and Aristotle, and in the East it can be traced back to Mencius and Confucius.
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