Virtue Ethics

Virtue Ethics

An ethical theory that emphasizes individual character and virtue over moral rules or principles, shifting the central ethical question from "What should I do?" to "What sort of a person do I want to become?"

Teleology

The philosophical principle asserting that all living things have an intrinsic goal, purpose, function, or end ($telos$) toward which they naturally aim.

Eudaimonia

The Greek term for human flourishing, contentment, or a life well-lived; it represents the supreme, permanent, and intrinsic good that humans pursue entirely for its own sake.

Aristotelian Definition of Happiness

An active exercise of the soul's rational faculties in accordance with perfect excellence or virtue over the course of a complete life. Happiness is a verb—something one does, not a temporary subjective feeling.

The Function of Man

The unique characteristic that sets humans apart from plants and animals, which is the capacity to live a life governed by active, self-aware human reason.

Intellectual Virtues

Cognitive excellences (such as logic, math, or philosophical reasoning) that can be taught directly through formal education, instruction, and memorization.

Moral Virtues

Character excellences (such as honesty, courage, or loyalty) that cannot be taught directly, but must instead be modeled, practiced, and habituated over a lifetime until they become second nature.

Trained Disposition (Habit)

The precise classification of a virtue; it is neither an emotion nor a raw biological faculty, but a stable, trained tendency to act and feel according to an ideal standard

Doctrine of the Mean

The principle stating that moral virtue consists of finding the rational balance or moderation between two destructive extremes

Vice

An undesirable character trait resulting from either an excess or a deficiency of a specific passion or action.

Excess

The vice of having or doing too much of something (e.g., being so excessively honest that you become brutally blunt, or so confident you become reckless).

Deficiency

The vice of having or doing too little of something (e.g., being so deficient in honesty that you become a liar, or so deficient in confidence that you become a coward).

Perfectionist Ethical Theory

A characteristic of Virtue Ethics highlighting that achieving a virtuous character is a lifetime of constant striving and moral refinement that is never truly finished.