Stages of the Virtue Framework
Honing Your Perception
- This framework looks for the specific character traits that are motivating people’s actions (rather than looking at the consequences of those actions or whether those actions follow some set of moral rules).
- Character Traits, in this framework, are dispositions or commitments to acting in specific ways. They are not just feelings, and they are not just good intentions.
- In general, this framework focuses on the question “what kind of person should I be?” rather than on the question “what sort of actions should I do?”
- Individual character is perceived as the center of the moral universe.
Clarifying Your Judgment
- Character traits are identified as virtues when they create an “excellent” character, or when they are traits that will help a person thrive both as an individual and in relation to others.
- Note that the Virtue perspectives on this website can help you determine which traits are virtues, and which are vices.
Cultivating your Motivation
- This framework assumes that a virtuous character is what allows people to achieve happiness. So, anyone who values happiness should be motivated towards virtue.
- Keep in mind that happiness is not just a feeling, it is a state of being.
- Each of the specific virtues is also thought to be good in itself. So, anyone who values the good should also have a reason to be virtuous.