Aristotle – to be a VIrtuous person

The approach called ‘Virtue Ethics’ was common in ancient Greek philosophy, although it has been revived by several contemporary thinkers. According to this view, the basic ethical issue is not ‘What is a right action?’ but rather ‘What is a virtuous person?’ or in other words, ‘Which personality traits are virtues?’

If, however, somebody insists on asking the question: “But which action is morally right?” the answer could be: “Once you become virtuous, the right actions will automatically follow.”

Everything depends, then, on how we understand what a virtuous person is. And different philosophers developed different answers to this question. Each answer portrayed different personality traits as virtues.

For Aristotle, moral virtues are habits which we learn and develop by practice, and which are between two extremes: between excess and deficiency. Courage, for example, is a virtue because it is between cowardice and rashness. Similarly, moderation is a virtue because it lies between pleasure-seeking and abstinence.

From this perspective, if I face a moral dilemma I should ask myself: What kind of a person should I be? Which personality traits should I maintain and develop?

If, for example I wonder how much money I should donate to charity organizations, then I should ask myself: Should I be a stingy person? Or generous? Or something in between?