Virtue Theory

"Historically, virtue theory is the oldest normative tradition in Western philosophy, having its roots in ancient Greek civilization. Greek epic poets and playwrights, such as Homer and Sophocles, paint the morality of their heroes and antiheroes in terms of their respective virtues and vices. Plato believed that an integral part of one's quest for truth was understanding the ideal nature of virtues such as justice, piety, and courage. The earliest and most influential systematic account of virtue theory appears in Aristotle's Nichomachean Ethics, the heart of which is his account of moral virtues in Book two. There he argues that moral virtues are desire-regulating character traits which are at a mean between more extreme character traits (or vices). For example, in response to the natural emotion of fear, we should develop the virtuous character trait of courage. If we develop an excessive character trait by curbing fear too much, then we are said to be rash, which is a vice. If, on ...