Is Virtue Ethics Viable Today?
- Sofía Hidalgo
- Jun 22
- 7 min read
Personal Purpose: Thoroughly understand the best arguments for virtue ethics that make it viable today.
Objective: Show critical thinking, independent reasoning, and understanding of the material.
In this essay, I will critically assess the most prominent arguments for virtue ethics; the Eudaemonic argument and the Platonic argument. My criteria for choosing these arguments was their influence and impact over the discussion of virtue. I will assert that virtue ethics is viable today. Before evaluating, I will introduce the kinds of arguments and for each of these arguments, I will provide proper context and comments (I), I will then state what I consider appropriate for the argument with examples (II), I will provide two objections (III) and identify their weakness (IV). Finally, I will offer my original thinking and conclusions (V).
(I) Virtue Ethics
Two main questions arise from virtue ethics: What is virtue? And why should a person pursue virtue?
Ethics guides us as we are human beings who act, and thereby must analyze how we act. Virtue ethics stresses the importance in the introspective approach of character and actions. It encompasses a holistic approach about a person and the context of a situation. Excellence is the leading pillar of virtue. Virtue ethics is used to know what to do, and is based on the good habits we must acquire. Excellence is based on thoughtful reflection on what we have the potential to become (intrinsic motivation). The intrinsic motivation embodies attitudes such as Honesty, Compassion, Generosity, and Integrity. Virtue ethics helps us understand what it means to be a virtuous human today. It guides us in life without giving us specific rules so that we can resolve the ethical challenges we live everyday.
Historically, virtue ethics is a normative ethics. In normative ethics, we have a criteria of moral behavior along with a conjuncture of principles. Virtue ethics states that good habits can be developed and practiced day to day.
A. The West: Arete and Phronesis
The Eudaemonic and Platonic arguments are based on arete (excellence or virtue) and phronesis (practical or moral wisdom). I will discuss Aristoteles’ eudaemonia in terms of the flourishing of an individual. Arete and phronesis contrast in that they embody particular contexts. For instance, in Socrates’ Apology, Socrates is congruent with his death verdict when prompted to escape. Socrates’ excellence and virtue prevail when he is faced with death and decides to remain truthful by his actions.
B. Eudaemonic and Platonic Arguments
Aristoteles’ focus was on the moral character of each person. The moral character is represented in decisions, actions, and intentions that may serve as evidence of the virtues that pertain to the person. To Aristoteles, happiness and a good life can be pursued by developing virtues. Therefore, character may be improved and virtues developed in the process of being disciplined. This self discipline can be corrupted by indulgence, therefore a virtuous person practices today- everyday. What is most transformative is that the virtuous person is the ethical person. Only those who act and embody virtue will carry on to making moral and ethical decisions.
In Aristotles’ Nicomachean Ethics , there are no rules to living a good life, yet happiness and justice are linked to living a life of virtue. To live a life of virtue is to act in a way that seeks a medium in each circumstance; to consider and critique circumstances, mediums, and ends. To deliberate an act that is conforming to a just consideration requires a distinctive ability of reflection. When a person remains true to the reflection and integrity in such, just decisions may be concluded.
Aristoteles places Prudence at the center for a virtuous life. This virtue points towards others through the pursuit of the just medium. Prudence must not only be an intellectual virtue but also a moral virtue so that it can realize normative ideals that can develop a good life. Prudence is found in the continuous evaluation of situations and circumstances, seeking for the best methods and mediums for the ends that are the careful acknowledgement of others and ourselves. Prudence consists in evaluating the best ways of acting in specific circumstances. It is to consider the possibility of mistakes, to impose judgment with certain doubt, to not have ignorance but conscience about possible limitations. Therefore, Prudence is favored by maturity, experience, adaptation, discretion, discipline, and conscience about the correct. It is embodied as a consequence of a habit and its value is held in understanding the continuous evaluation of situations. According to Aristoteles, by developing habitual virtues, one may produce informed decisions when confronted with ethical challenges that lead to evaluation and logic based argumentation.
Meanwhile, Plato talks about the cardinal virtues: Wisdom, Courage, Moderation, and Justice. Plato states that for a virtuous person to practice virtue, they must develop such during their early years, and the responsible adults must help in the process.Therefore, virtue is developed in a collective, highlighting the importance of habits and good character leading to informed decisions. So virtue is a developed habitual testament of good character leading to intentional decisions. Plato’s dialogues devote time to asking to explain the nature of virtues. Contemplating the form of goodness with regularity makes room for new habits of thought that readily focus more honestly on things other than the self, “anything that alters consciousness leads to objectivity and realism is to be connected with virtue” (Murdoch 1971: 82).
(II) Viability and Achievement
What is viable is understood as to be something that can be realized or is achievable. I will refer to eudaemonia as something that is achievable and realized as means to maximize personal potential.
I therefore pose the following premises:
A. Direction to Eudaemonia
If a person comes to know themselves by living in accordance with virtues, then they will achieve eudaemonia (the flourishing).
A person learns to know themselves by living in accordance with virtues.
C. They will reach eudaemonia.
Living virtuously here is about cultivating an inner disposition that aligns with moral insight. Learning about oneself through reflection is needed for vitreous action.
B. Collaboration and Change
If people live in a society and must collaborate across diverse perspectives, then they require informed decision making and just evaluation for the collective good.
People live in a society and must collaborate across diverse perspectives.
C. They require informed decision making and just evaluation for the collective good.
(III) Objections
Obj A. One cannot learn virtue, and thus cannot acquire virtue. Learning about oneself , critics might argue, does not imply the person is virtuous and will not reach eudaemonia.
Obj B. What if different reasons push with different strengths to different places? As Gandhi once stated. This would be a critique on virtue ethics not giving action guidance. The being rather than doing approach. Given that societies are composed of people with varying beliefs, experiences, working together demands more than personal opinion but more of an ethical framework grounded in thoughtful reflection and shared human capacities.
(IV) Counter Objections
Responding to Obj A, consider the example of honesty. An honest person’s reasons and choices with respect to honest and dishonest actions reflect their views about honesty, truth, and deception while such views manifest themselves with respect to other actions. An honest person doesn't act honestly simply for the external consequences. The virtuous person is the one with a complex mindset that drives them to a distinct number of considerations as reasons for their actions. In this case, the honest person acts with honesty because “That would be the truth” and not for other implications. The person has learnt to understand and know themselves, and therefore has created different ways of living. Their actions reflect an internalized understanding of honesty, expressing a coherent moral character. The honest person has understood who they are through the habitual practice of virtue and they have shaped a particular way of living (Hursthouse 2022). This shows that through virtuous action, a person can become practical and developmental, therefore the cultivation of virtue and the pursuit of eudaemonia go hand in hand.
I refer to Parfait, who stated that if we knew who we are, we would have different ways of living.
Pertaining Obj B, society lives as a collective with different considerations to contemplate. We must act to live and reflect to make decisions that create an impact, and live in the virtuous capacity. Virtue ethics remains viable today because it places emphasis on an internal understanding of the most elevated capacities to work outwards and collaborate for change. It cultivates the internal capacity to deliberate wisely, balancing competing considerations with integrity. Virtue ethics allows for the dynamic of action and reflection, developing moral sensitivity and judgement that is adaptable to different contexts that can create deeper collaboration and sustainability for social change.
(V) Virtue Ethics Today
As seen in the Eudaemonic and Platonic arguments, virtue ethics has always emphasized the importance of moral education. Such pertaining the development of character rather than the instilling of rules. Seeking connections as to how virtues are related to one another could be something to look into. There are a growing number of rules and regulations oriented to combat moral sufferings. Looking outside of rules and regulations and into intrinsic motivation, could make the rules of society more effective while giving guidance for the unregulated actions. Application for all, a rule base system always roadblocks into adding more rules which can prove counterproductive. Virtue ethics is not only viable today, but necessary for social change.
Bibliography
Aristóteles (2011). Ética a Nicómaco. Madrid: Alianza editorial. Libros: I, II, VI
Hursthouse, Rosalind, and Glen Pettigrove. “Virtue Ethics.” The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, edited by Edward N. Zalta. Winter 2022 Edition. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/ethics-virtue/.
Mindshop Café. “¿La Ética de la Virtud Es Viable Hoy en Día?” Mindshop Café. Accessed January 16, 2025. https://mindshop.cafe/la-etica-de-la-virtud-es-viable-hoy-en-dia/.
Murdoch, Iris, 1971, The Sovereignty of Good, London: Routledge.
Pigliucci, Massimo. “Virtue Ethics: An Ancient Solution to a Modern Problem.” Scientia Salon, September 25, 2014. https://scientiasalon.wordpress.com/2014/09/25/virtue-ethics-an-ancient-solution-to-a-modern-problem/.
This essay took more time than I anticipated and gave me more than I expected. While it is not perfect, I decided to publish it as is and reflect my understandings and thoughts.
So why should a person pursue virtue? To change the world. A virtuous person is one who has achieved self reflection and has dug deep into a consistent path of actions.
I argue that a life of virtue is viable today but most importantly necessary. I myself will aim to introspectively evaluate all possible considerations to act with a just medium in mind.
By my own hand,
Sofía Hidalgo
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