Virtue Ethics Notes

Virtue is not determined by the acting agent themselves but by a "prudent man" or a man of practical wisdom, who discerns the mean between extremes.

Motivational Component: Virtue ethics provides a robust motivational component, promising personal and permanent happiness as opposed to acting based on abstract duty or utility maximization.
Partiality: It permits a degree of partiality towards oneself, personal happiness, character, and goals, contrasting with the impartiality required by other ethical theories focused on abstract duty or utility.
Development of Feelings: Virtue ethics requires the cultivation of feelings, aligning with feminist perspectives that emphasize a holistic view of human nature encompassing both reason and emotion.

Incompleteness: The theory primarily focuses on the character of agents and does not adequately address the morality of specific actions. Critics note that applying the concept of the "mean" to actions is speculative, as Aristotle's framework explicitly centers on character.
Virtues vs. Knowledge of Actions: Possessing virtues does not guarantee knowledge of what actions to take in certain situations. An example given is of loyalty, in which a person is asked by a cheater to not tell their partner about the cheating. Should you be loyal to the cheater and do what they ask you to? Or, should you be loyal to the person who is cheated on?
Differentiation between Virtues and Habits: It is difficult to distinguish between virtues and habits. An external observer may find it difficult to access all elements of virtue because feelings are utterly private. However, acting agents can access their feelings and they are always in position to tell whether they act habitually or out of virtues, which makes this criticism the weakest of the three.