According to virtue ethics, the key to ethical living is a commitment to being a good and virtuous person. Rather than focusing solely on actions or rules, virtue ethics emphasizes the importance of developing a strong character—engraving reliable habits into your identity that guide you toward excellence and the good life.
The concept of virtue ethics dates back over 2,000 years to Aristotle, who believed that virtues are developed through practice, much like learning to play an instrument.
The Lowdown on Virtue Ethics: The Importance of Character
Virtue ethics focuses on the importance of having a good character, which is achieved to the degree to which someone is an admirable type of person rather than to the degree to which a person does the right actions or follows the right principles or rules.
Focusing on character doesn’t mean that action doesn’t count, however. People with good characters don’t just talk about virtues—they act on them in situations that call for virtuous responses.
This commitment to character also requires seeing life as a unified whole, not fragmented into zones where virtue matters in some places but not others. Instead, virtuous living is a way of life that harmonizes your experiences with the virtues themselves.
Reflect: Think of someone you admire for their character. What virtues do they consistently demonstrate, no matter the situation?
Discovering Why Character Matters
Most people think about ethics in terms of character—hoping that they and those around them have admirable traits like honesty, generosity, courage, or loyalty. When you focus on character, you make judgments about how people are rather than just about what they do or the rules they follow.
Virtue ethics stresses that character, for better or worse, defines a person. When you think that bad people do bad actions, you see those actions as expressions of character. When you say, “I wouldn’t do that, because that’s not who I am,” you’re thinking in terms of your character traits.
Good character traits—admirable habits or dispositions such as honesty or courage—that guide people toward excellence.
Bad character traits—habits or dispositions like jealousy or laziness—that lead people away from excellence.
Clearly, some character traits are good (virtues), and others are bad (vices). The more virtues you possess, the more admirable you are; the more vices, the more deplorable.
“Virtue ethics really stresses the fact that character, whether good or bad, defines a person.”
Connecting Character with Action
In virtue ethics, character is ethically central, but character and action are closely linked. Having the character trait of honesty, for example, means reliably telling the truth when the situation calls for it. Without honesty as part of your character, truth-telling is not second nature.
An honest person who lied all the time would be like a square with no sides—inconceivable. However, just having the character trait doesn’t mean you express it in every situation—only in those that are relevant.
When have you noticed your character traits influencing your actions, even when no one was watching?
Seeing Character as a Way of Life
Developing the right character is a lifelong pursuit—a 24/7 job. Virtue ethics teaches that there are no ethical-free zones. The goal is to integrate virtue into all roles you play: student, friend, colleague, citizen, and more.
In the workplace, companies increasingly value employees who consistently demonstrate virtues like integrity and diligence, not just technical skills.
Virtue ethics invites you to see all your roles as equally demanding of virtue. Telling the truth in one context but lying in another means you are not truly honest. Every situation is an opportunity to reflect virtue—or vice.
Living this way is demanding, but virtue ethics holds that letting vice slide in one area can slowly erode your overall character.
It’s fine to act virtuously only in certain parts of life and relax your standards in others.
Virtue ethics teaches that your character and virtues should guide your actions in all areas of your life, not just some.
Understanding What Virtues Are
Virtue ethicists care about character development, believing that virtues are needed to help you flourish as a human being. But what exactly are virtues?
Virtues are not just occasional good deeds—they are stable habits guiding you toward human excellence.
Which virtues do you think are most important for living a fulfilling life? Why?
Want to go deeper? The science behind habit and character formation
Modern psychology supports the virtue ethicist’s claim: repeated actions do shape our habits and even our personalities. Neuroscientists have found that practicing certain behaviors (like honest communication) strengthens the brain circuits involved, making those actions more automatic over time. This is why consistent practice—across all areas of life—matters so much for building and maintaining virtue.
What is the central focus of virtue ethics?
Tap to revealThe development of admirable character traits (virtues) that guide a person to live an excellent life.
How are virtues different from vices?
Tap to revealVirtues are good traits that lead to excellence; vices are bad traits that lead away from it.
According to virtue ethics, what connects character and action?
Tap to revealVirtues are habits that lead people to act in virtuous ways when situations call for them.
Identify which virtues you already embody and which you want to develop further.
- List three virtues you believe you demonstrate regularly (e.g., honesty, patience, generosity).
- List two virtues you find challenging or want to improve.
- For each virtue, write a specific example from your life where you either demonstrated or missed the mark on that virtue.
Think about a recent decision you made. How did your character traits influence your choice? If you could go back, would you act differently, and why?
- Virtue ethics centers on developing virtuous character traits.
- Your actions flow naturally from the character you build through habits.
- Virtue applies across all areas of your life—there are no ethical-free zones.
In counseling and therapy, practitioners often help clients identify which virtues or vices are shaping their experiences and relationships. Building self-awareness about character traits is often the first step toward positive change.
Virtue ethics says that as long as you act rightly, your underlying character is not important.
According to virtue ethics, what are good character traits called?
Virtue ethics teaches that being an excellent person is about cultivating admirable character traits—virtues—that guide your actions across all areas of life.
The Shift
- Virtue ethics prioritizes developing a virtuous character over merely following rules or doing isolated good actions.
- Your character shapes your choices in every role and situation—virtue is an all-of-life commitment.
- Building and practicing virtues leads to human flourishing and defines who you are at your core.