Most ethical decision-making is concerned with ‘doing;’ it is ‘action-centered.’ Our friend Aristotle invited us to consider that ethics is primarily a way of ‘being;’ who I am will determine what I will choose to do. Perhaps more importantly, I choose to be a certain way even if I do not achieve my goal. I am, in other words, faithful to who I am even though I might not be effective. Mother Theresa reinforced this when she told a young BBC reporter: ‘I am not called to be effective, I am called to be faithful.’ One of the things we are ‘faithful’ to is our virtues (hopefully, more than our vices).
What sets virtue ethics apart – say from deontology or utilitarianism – is that it treats ethics as concerned with one’s whole life (with one’s ‘being’) and not just those times when one is faced with an ethical dilemma. The question is not simply: What do I do when I am faced with an ethical dilemma? It is not a question, in this sense, it is a statement: I will approach all of life’s choices rooted in certain ‘virtues’ – kindness, compassion, caring, empathy, wisdom, courage, justice, and integrity. Rightness of actions is important AND the ‘why’ I choose the actions I choose reveals my character; the tap roots that support and nurture who I am. ‘Rightness’ is about what I choose to do; ‘Virtue’ is about who I am, my character.
Consider that ‘virtues’ are those character traits (or character strengths) that are essential if one is going to live a life that is fulfilling; a life in which one cares about the right things and has the wisdom and skill to act intelligently about those things. In order to live this way I must know myself – as a living paradox of virtue and vice – and I must commit myself to developing and engaging my virtues more than my vices [since I am an imperfect human being, one of many I think, then I will at times choose to engage a vice over a virtue].
Virtue ethics did not begin with ‘What is the right thing to do?’ It began with ‘What is the best way for me to live?’ The first is focused on ‘ethical reasoning’ – which is important for anyone who desires to behave ethically. The second is a broader question; it concerns what to do with one’s life; how should I live so that my life is fulfilled. As William James noted: ‘Live as if what you do will make a difference. It does!’ The question that seems to emerge: ‘What sort of character do I want to develop?’ How do I care about the ‘right’ things and how do I develop the wisdom and the practical skills to judge ‘what is right’ and then to act accordingly (remember, that when I act I must be rooted in ‘being faithful’ and not become seduced into ‘being effective’ – the ‘ends’ do not justify the ‘means’).
Aristotle reminds that: ‘Educating the mind without educating the heart is not education at all.’
C.S Lewis concludes: ‘Education without values, as useful as it is, seems rather to make man a more clever devil.’