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Essay on The Alternative View To Virtue Ethics

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The Alternative View To Virtue Ethics

Virtue theory is the view that the foundation of morality is the development of good character traits, or virtues. A person is good, then, if he has virtues and lacks vices. Some virtue theorists mention as many as 100 virtuous character traits, which contribute to making someone a good person.

Virtue theory places special emphasis on moral education since virtuous character traits are developed in one's youth; adults, therefore, are responsible for instilling virtues in the young. The failure to properly develop virtuous character traits will result in the agent acquiring vices or bad character traits instead. Vices include cowardice, insensibility, …show more content…

The exemplar model of virtue ethics comes into focus in two different ways; either through an examination of ideal types of persons or through following someone that is an ideal type.

Some of the attractiveness that virtue theories enjoy is due to a misunderstanding of rival moral theories. Advocates of virtue ethics sometimes offer self-characterisations that make them appear to offer advantages that are in fact shared by rival, sophisticated moral theories. For example, some virtue theories tell us to habituate rule following, because we want to develop character, or an internalisation of the rules, a goal, which is allegedly unique to the virtue theory. But in fact this is hardly different from many rule-emphasis theories.

Once we commit ourselves to a particular kind of moral action, once we have habituated ourselves to choosing it, we typically find that it becomes relatively easy to follow. But this realisation is not solely the property of virtue ethics; rule-based ethical systems too seek habituation of rules for the formation of character.

As another example, consider that virtue theories often suggest that long lists of rules are impractical and that there is great simplicity or moral economy in

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