Moral Theology

Virtue Ethics:
Morality for Daily Life
Introduction
There are two general types of ethics in
moral theology: virtue ethics and
dilemma ethics
Virtue ethics is for the ordinary times of
our lives when we face daily decisions of
doing good and avoiding evil
Dilemma ethics is for the extraordinary
times when we face major ethical decision
that involve conflict of values.
Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics is
concerned about how
people express and
form their character
through their choices
and action in everyday
situations.
Virtue ethics sees the
ordinary life as the
place where most of
moral life takes place.
Virtue Ethics
The task of being moral
is to grow into
perfection in imitation of
Christ
We do this by growing in
the virtues (developing
and regularly practicing
good habits) and
avoiding vices (turning
away from bad habits).
Virtue Ethics
Virtues and vices are habits
or dispositions of the will.
They are patterns of deciding
and acting that can draw us
toward goodness or evil.
When we develop and
maintain good habits/virtues
we get used to doing good,
and thus choosing and doing
the good would become
easier and easier for us.
Virtue Ethics
Virtue ethics is a goal oriented
ethics because we strive to live
morally in order to move closer and
closer to the perfection God desires
for us and the perfect union with
God that awaits us.
The virtues are the means we use
to achieve this goal of perfection
and union with God.
Traditional Virtues
There are three divine or infused
virtues: Faith, Hope, and Love
There are four acquired or cardinal
virtues: Prudence, Justice,
Temperance, and Fortitude.
Divine or Infused Virtues
Faith, Hope, and
Love
These virtues are
received directly
from God
We cannot attain
them on our own.
We receive them as
gifts from God.
 Acquired or Cardinal Virtues
Prudence,
Justice,
Fortitude, and
Temperance.
These virtues are
acquired which
means that we can
attain them and
increase them by
constant practice.
 Acquired or Cardinal Virtues
They are called
cardinal from the
Latin word cardo
meaning hinge.
Like the hinges that
hold a door and allow
it to swing, the
cardinal virtues hold
up our moral life.
Cardinal virtues are
like the skeleton on
which our ordinary
moral life hangs on.
Prudence
Prudence is the virtue that enables us
to make proper choices, avoiding
extremes (too much or too little).
It means being able to govern and
discipline oneself with reason, in
speech, and actions.
When you are a prudent person you
know how to make good judgments
and make balanced decisions.
Justice
Justice is the virtue that governs our
relationships with others.
Justice enables us to decide and act in a
way that gives to every person what is
properly due to each.
It means being impartial and exercising
fair judgment; also conforming to truth.
You are a just person if you give to every
one what they deserve.
Temperance
Temperance is the virtue that guides our
response to pleasure.
Temperance enables us to be disciplined
in satisfying our human needs.
It means to moderate oneself in our
thoughts, emotions, and our use and
consumption of things.
To be a temperate person is to be able to
be able to practice self-control and
restraint.
Fortitude
Fortitude is the virtue that guides our
response to difficulties in life.
Fortitude enables us to bravely and
heroically face challenges in order to
achieve what is good.
It means to have courage and strength in
mind, when faced with danger, adversity
or pain.
A person who has fortitude is able to
make sacrifices for what is good for
himself and for others.
Finding the golden mean
Each virtue is attained by finding the
golden mean in every activity.
There is an appropriate way to be just,
tempered, and courageous in every
occasion.
Ones character grows in perfection when
one gradually learns to live according to
the mean that is called for in every
situation in daily life.
 Interrelation of the cardinal virtues

Prudence
(making the proper decision)

Justice
Prudence is the balancing (towards others)
and the decision-making
virtue that enables us to
choose the mean when Temperance
applying fortitude and (when satisfying ones needs)

temperance to our
personal behavior and
Fortitude
applying justice to our (when making sacrifices)
relationship with others.
Vices
A vice is the opposite of a virtue. It is either an
excess or a deficiency in what a virtue should
be.

Virtues Vices
Prudence Imprudence, Negligence
Justice Injustice in doing too much or too
little for others
Fortitude Fear, Fearlessness or Daring

Temperance Intemperance, Timidity

Applying Virtue Ethics
Three basic questions we ask
ourselves:
Who am I?
What kind of person do I want to
become?
How do I achieve this goal?
 Who Am I?
The question can be
refined to How virtuous
am I?
Aristotle suggests that
we can know how
virtuous we are by
considering how we act in
spontaneous situations:
we reveal ourselves when
we act in the unplanned
world of ordinary life.
Who Am I?
The cardinal
virtues can serve
are standards to
measure how
virtuous we are in
everyday
situations.
We seek a kind of
self-knowledge
that is honest and
critical.
 What kind of person do I want to
become?

If we are honest with

the first question we
will come to realize that
there are virtues which
we have not fully
acquired. We realize
that we need to grow
more in these virtues.
We use the cardinal
virtues to set personal
goals for ourselves.
 What kind of person do I want to
become?

We try to envision
the kind of virtuous
person we want to
become.
Role models, heroes,
saints, significant
persons in our lives
can help us form our
vision of what kind of
person we would
strive to become.
 How do I achieve this goal?
To become the person we
want to become, we need
prudence.
To be a prudent person is
to be a person who is
realistic and practical,
attentive to details of the
moral life, able to
anticipate difficulties, and
able to choose and
measure actions rightly.
How do I achieve this goal?
Finding prudence is
finding the middle
point (the mean) and
acting in moderation;
It is about being able
to find the
appropriate response
to situations that
avoids doing too
much or too little.
 How do I achieve this goal?
Finding the mean in
every situation is a
challenge because the
mean is not fixed and
can vary according each
persons capacities.
Prudence will enable the
person to make right
choices to exercise the
other virtues in moderate
ways in order to form a
more virtuous character.
 Contemporary virtues
There are other ways of structuring virtues.
A contemporary way to structure virtues
Justice - seeking the common good of society;
treating everybody equally
Fidelity - treating special persons
preferentially spouse, children, parents,
friends, relatives, community members; being
faithful to those we have a special relationship
Prudence - keeping justice and fidelity always
in tension; knowing when one should give in
to the other.
Self-care - balancing humility and self-esteem
Fortitude and Temperance at all levels
Additional Virtues
Hospitality
Gratitude
Sympathy
Humor
Solidarity
Transparency
Care for the environment
 Keys to growing in virtue

Remember your goal

What person you
want to become
what virtues you
need to develop.
Keys to growing in virtue

Pay attention to
details.
What you do, say
or think shapes
your character.
 Keys to growing in virtue
Practice, practice,
practice.
A difficult virtue becomes
easier when we get used
to it and eventually it
becomes a natural
disposition for us.
Example: It becomes
easier to be more patient
and forgiving if we
practice it constantly.
 Keys to growing in virtue
Community support is
important. We learn
about virtue and pass
them on through our
family and community.
Virtue ethics is not an
individual task but is a
communal endeavor
where people support one
another in trying to live
virtuously and avoid
vices.
Keys to growing in virtue
We need good role
models and wise
mentors to inspire
and guide us to
live virtuous lives
and shape our
character in
imitation of Christ.
Keys to growing in virtue
Remember that each
person is on a
journey of growth
Learn from mistakes
and rise above your
setbacks
There is always room
for improvement and
renewal.
Questions for Discussion

As Filipinos,
What virtues do we need to develop
more as Filipinos?
What vices do we have to correct?

What role models do we have who

can help us follow Christ?
 For Tuesday, January 31st
Write a one-page essay reflecting on
As Filipinos (or Chinese or English, etc.),
What virtues do we need to develop more as
Filipinos (or Koreans or Iranian, etc.)?
What vices do we have to correct?
Give 2 examples each.