Character Formation and Virtue Ethics
A Moral Theologian’s Point of View
Keywords:
Virtue ethics, Character Formation, Moral TheologyAbstract
This essay on character formation from the perspective of a moral theologian working on virtue ethics offers seven reasons for the following virtue as a worthy method for teaching character formation: virtue ethics uses familiar, ordinary and fairly specific language; deals with ordinary life; is a very active ethics; is a very comprehensive system; is fairly easy to teach; teaches us that virtues never stand alone; and, that virtues are fundamentally social. The essay develops from each point, building on one another like building blocks so that the reader can appreciate how inclusive and robust the work of virtue ethics today is.
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