Virtue ethics
- Theory
Virtue ethics asks what kind of person the doctor should be; acting well is acting as a virtuous person would.
What it is
Virtue ethics goes back to Aristotle (Nicomachean Ethics). It puts character at the centre: virtues are stable traits that let one act, feel and choose well, and they are acquired through practice, like a craft. Its goal is a flourishing life (eudaimonia). The key virtue is prudence or practical wisdom (phronesis), which lets one see what each situation calls for. Many virtues lie in a mean between a deficiency and an excess: courage lies between cowardice and recklessness. This ethics came back strongly in the twentieth century, when several philosophers criticised rule-based theories for forgetting character, motives and emotions. Rosalind Hursthouse proposed a criterion: an act is right if it is what a virtuous person would characteristically do in the circumstances. This page goes deeper than the summary in «Ethical theories in brief».
Core ideas
- Virtue (arete): a stable disposition to act, feel and choose well.
- Flourishing (eudaimonia): the accomplished human life that the virtues aim at.
- Practical wisdom (phronesis): unites the virtues and applies them to the case.
- The mean: neither deficiency nor excess, depending on the situation.
- Formation: virtues are learned by imitating role models and practising, not only by reading rules.
In clinical practice
- In medical training, role models (teachers who act well) teach virtues that no regulation can pass on.
- When breaking bad news, the question «what would a good doctor do here?» guides tone, timing and words.
- Courage in the mean: standing up for the patient against undue pressure, without recklessness or needless conflict.
- Honesty as a virtue leads to disclosing errors even when the rule is unclear.
Criticisms and limits
- Action guidance: in a dilemma, «act as a virtuous person would» may not say what to do.
- Relativity: different cultures prize different virtues; which ones belong to the doctor?
- Situationism: psychology studies suggest behaviour depends more on the situation than on character.
- Reply: virtues generate rules («do what is honest, what is compassionate; not what is cruel») and coexist with principles and duties.
- Law 23 of 1981 (art. 2) adopts an oath that asks the doctor to practise the profession with dignity and conscience: an ideal of character, not only of conduct.
Test yourself
Think of the answer, then tap the question to see it.
What central question does virtue ethics ask?
What kind of person the agent should be; acting well is doing what a virtuous person would do in the circumstances.
What is phronesis?
Prudence or practical wisdom: the virtue that lets one see what each concrete situation calls for and apply the other virtues well.
What does it mean that virtue lies in the mean?
That it sits between a deficiency and an excess, as courage lies between cowardice and recklessness.
How does virtue ethics answer the criticism that it does not guide action?
Virtues generate practical rules: do what is honest, just and compassionate, and do not do what is dishonest or cruel.
Connections
Educational content on ethics and health law; not legal advice. Laws and case law change: each page links the official text and says when it was last checked. For a real case, read the text in force and ask a lawyer or the medical ethics tribunal.
Sources: Virtue Ethics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2026); Exploring Modern Virtue Ethics in the Context of Oral Healthcare (South African Dental Journal, 2022); Ley 23 de 1981, por la cual se dictan normas en materia de ética médica (Función Pública, Gestor Normativo, 1981).
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Representative model, for educational purposes only.