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Virtue ethics (also aretaic ethics, [a] [1] from Greek ἀρετή ) is a philosophical approach that treats virtue and character as the primary subjects of ethics, in contrast to other ethical systems that put consequences of voluntary acts, principles or rules of conduct, or obedience to divine authority in the primary role.
They form a virtue theory of ethics. The term cardinal comes from the Latin cardo (hinge); [1] these four virtues are called "cardinal" because all other virtues fall under them and hinge upon them. [2] These virtues derive initially from Plato in Republic Book IV, 426-435. [a] Aristotle expounded them systematically in the Nicomachean Ethics.
In human practical ethics, a virtue is a disposition to choose actions that succeed in showing high moral standards: doing what is said to be right and avoiding what is wrong in a given field of endeavour, even when doing so may be unnecessary from a utilitarian perspective. When someone takes pleasure in doing what is right, even when it is ...
[5] The third virtue is also commonly referred to as "charity", as this is how the influential King James Bible translated the Greek word agape. The traditional understanding of the difference between cardinal and theological virtues is that the latter are not fully accessible to humans in their natural state without assistance from God. [6]
In fact, virtue ethics takes its inspiration from Aristotle's approach to ethics—in particular, sharing his emphasis on character excellence, and ethical psychology. Some philosophers, in particular Bernard Williams, regard Aristotle's ethics as superior to the Utilitarian and Kantian traditions, which have come to be the dominant approaches ...
Kantian ethics; Pragmatic ethics; Virtue ethics – describes the character of a moral agent as a driving force for ethical behavior. Aristotelian ethics – the beginning of ethics as a subject, in the form of a systematic study of how individuals should best live. Aristotle believed one's goal should be living well and "eudaimonia", a Greek ...
Alongside Aristotle's ethics, the Stoic tradition forms one of the major founding approaches to virtue ethics. [2] The Stoics are especially known for teaching that "virtue is the only good" for human beings, and that external things, such as health, wealth, and pleasure, are not good or bad in themselves ( adiaphora ) but have value as ...
Mortimer J. Adler described Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics as a "unique book in the Western tradition of moral philosophy, the only ethics that is sound, practical, and undogmatic." [28] The contemporary Aristotelian philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre helped to revive virtue ethics in his book After Virtue. MacIntyre revises Aristotelianism with ...