What is Christian Virtue Ethics?
In the West, like a lot of things, virtue ethics is tied to Greek philosophy. For example “Most virtue ethics theories take their inspiration from Aristotle who declared that a virtuous person is someone who has ideal character traits” (Athanassoulis, n.d). Saylor Academy states: “ Virtue ethics began with Socrates, and was subsequently developed further by Plato, Aristotle, and the Stoics” (n.d). So it starts with people like Aristotle, Plato, etc, but how does it get into the realm of Christianity?
After the Greeks, Virtue Ethics finds itself in the NT. For example, it is written “Blessed are the meek… Blessed are the pure in heart…” (Matthew 5). As is noted by Bob Harrison, “he was not commenting on the value of certain specified acts. He was urging us to be a certain kind of person, exhibiting certain character dispositions. His ethic was agent centred; a virtue ethic,” (1998). Jesus cared about us being a sort of person, a good or virtuous person. The apostle Paul has also been a huge inspiration for virtue ethics. As noted by Collins: “Paul is also concerned about virtue in his communities, but he draws mainly on the Bible, Greek, and Hellenistic-Jewish lists of virtues and vices, and Stoic ethical teaching” (2023). A Hellenistic Jew is a Jew who has been influenced by Greek culture and thought. This is seen in Paul in numerous places. For example, Paul says: “Bad company corrupts good morals” (1 Cor. 15:33, NET). This is a quote from the Greek poet Menander, which had become a common proverb at the time (ESV Reformation Study Bible). Notice that Paul is concerned about the morals or the character of the people, which is the major concern of virtue ethics.
So let’s see what happens throughout church history. First, let’s start with Clement of Alexandria. Clement was born probably around 150 AD. He wrote a book called The Instructor where he “…outlines How to live as a Christian by focusing on character formation in which the cultivation of the virtues is seen as more important than knowledge” (Arthur, 2023, P. 30). Arthur (2023) furthermore notes “The virtues, he believed, were necessary for growth in character, which he saw as the primary goal of education” (P. 30). We see here and many other places that the church was willing to use Greek philosophy and Christianity to further develop several ideas.
We can now move to Augustine. Augustine is a highly influential theologian living from 354 to 430 CE. While Augustine did agree with aspects of virtue ethics, he also disagreed. For example “For Aristotle, the process of virtue formation in the city is that of habituation… For Augustine, the source of virtue and the moral life is God” (McDowell, 2017). So Aristotle argued that to become a virtuous person, one must develop the right habits in alignment with the virtues. On the other hand, Augustine believed that virtuous living was a work of God and not us primarily.
Boethius was a foremost Christian philosopher who was hugely influenced by Greek thought (Ebbeson, 2020) and virtue ethics. We see this in a quote like this “For all fortune which seems difficult, either exercises virtue, or corrects or punishes vice” (Book 4, Prose 7, P 138). As we can see in this quote, he argues that difficult times come from either exercising virtue or correcting or punishing vice.
Finally, we move to Thomas Aquinas. Aquinas is one of the most influential thinkers of the past in church history. He lived from 1225–1274 and wrote what is considered to be his magnum opus, the summary of theology (summa theologica). He tried to synthesize Greek philosophy and Christian thought. In this process, he touches on virtue ethics. Thomas agreed with Aristotle on a lot concerning ethics. For example “there are essentially four virtues from which Aquinas’s more extensive list flows. These virtues are prudence, justice, temperance, and courage ( ST IaIIae 61.2). Aquinas refers to these virtues as the “cardinal” virtues. They are the principle habits on which the rest of the virtues hinge ( cardo ) …” (Floyd). So he agrees with Aristotle on the principle of virtues. Thomas also agrees with Aristotle’s view on habits, which disagrees with Augustine; however, Aquinas does not believe that man can reach complete happiness (happiness being understood how Aristotle did) without the theological virtues which are infused in a man by God (Floyd). These virtues are the ones that Paul gives in his letter to the Corinthians “So now faith, hope, and love abide” (1 Cor. 13:13).
So, in the West, virtue ethics emerged among the Greek philosophers. After this, it is picked up by the church, which uses Greek philosophical frameworks to achieve a multitude of different things. We see that it was a dominant ethical theory until the Enlightenment when it began to fade (Hursthouse and Pettigrove, 2022). It was then picked back up in the 50s, along with dissatisfaction with other ethical theories at the time. We have talked about history, but what does this theory teach?
Here are some key ideas within virtue ethics generally.
Virtue Ethics primarily focuses on the virtues, however, it makes room for duties, the consequences of our actions, etc they just are not central. A virtue (Arete) is seen as an excellent trait of character that is deep within the person. The individual is “… to notice, expect, value, feel, desire, choose, act, and react in certain characteristic ways (Hursthouse and Pettigrove, 2022). A person does not have the virtue of honesty because they tell the truth occasionally or only when it benefits them. Furthermore, they do not possess honesty if the reason they tell the truth is for fear of being caught. Also “An honest person cannot be identified simply as one who, for example, tells the truth because it is the truth, for one can have the virtue of honesty without being tactless or indiscreet” (hursthouse and Pettigrove, 2022). A person has the virtue of honesty if they find the statement “To do or say otherwise would be dishonest” a strong and relevant reason not to do or say something in most contexts. This is the person who wants to be around honest people, wants honest kids, finds feelings of opposition towards dishonesty, etc. Virtue is consistent and permeates the life of its possessor (though there is room for imperfection and error).
Speaking of error, there is a distinction made between full virtue and “continence”. Possessing full virtue would mean acting in good ways without the struggle of contrary desires internal to their character. However, a person of continence acts virtuously with a struggle against the contrary desires. Again, a fully virtuous person has their reasoning, emotions, etc all lined up with the given virtue, such that they act and feel as they should.
Another central aspect of virtue ethics is practical wisdom (phronesis). A person needs to demonstrate virtue wisely, otherwise it may be a fault (vice). We recognize this in our culture today. People say that someone is honest “to a fault”. Sometimes we say “Too much of a good thing is bad”. An honest person may be “too honest” and divulge information they should not have (the Liar, Liar movie for example). A courageous person, without timidness, wisdom, or self-control, may do wicked things. So you need wisdom, discernment, moral skill, etc to be able to act as you should. To use an analogy, a virtuous child and an adult are good things. Yet the big difference between the two is that the adult has the wisdom and knowledge to make decisions that the child lacks due to ignorance (Hursthouse and Pettigrove, 2022).
A final agreement between different virtue ethicists is the link between virtue and eudaimonia. Eudaimonia is a Greek term that has been translated into English as happiness, flourishing, well-being, etc. To compare, contrast, and make distinctions to help us understand this idea, we will use the term happiness (see Armstead’s work for a deeper look at the term). Firstly, in virtue ethics, happiness is not an emotion, nor is it primarily based on circumstances. It does not entail physical pleasure or luxury as a hedonistic ethic (ethical theory which says we should maximize pleasure and minimize pain) might say. But rather, “… a state of being, or even, especially for Aristotle, a state of doing. As such, it is more deep-rooted than happiness, and more stable and reliable” (Burton, 2020). A Eudimonian life is a life of the highest good, one that pursues one’s meaning and purpose. Activities that pursue the greater good and self-improvement are seen as Eudaimonic. This state is not the means, but rather the end itself.
To help us understand, let’s look at some examples. Eudaimonic activities would be volunteering at a homeless shelter or church. This is a virtuous task that brings about meaning and purpose in the life of the individual and is therefore Eudimonic. A hedonistic Happiness has pleasure as the end goal. The originator of hedonism, Aristippus, “… believed that pursuing sensual pleasures such as sexual intercourse, or enjoying food and alcohol helped people achieve this end goal” (Armstead, 2023).
These are the big agreements between virtue ethicists. However, as with anything, there are disagreements between different Ethicists. The disagreement is things like, what virtues are central to being an excellent person. What is the end goal of virtue? How does the link between Eudimonia and Virtue play out? If you would like a discussion regarding that, see the Stanford Encyclopedia article on virtue ethics.
There are some distinctions that Christian Virtue Ethics has that secular virtue ethics does not. Since we have talked about virtue, practical wisdom, and happiness, we will discuss all those from a Christian perspective. Secular virtue ethics debates what virtues should be central and not central. However, for Christians, the virtues are relatively obvious. The writers of the NT gave us many lists of virtues and vices, yet two usually stick out. The most important is 1 Cor 13 describing faith, hope, and love. And Paul gives us the “fruits of the spirit” in Galatians. Some Christians (like Thomas Aquinas) also accept Aristotle’s virtues as cardinal (central) virtues, and faith, hope, and love as theological virtues. Yet we would all agree, as Paul specifically states, “The greatest of these is love” (1 Cor 13).
Of Christ it is written “but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24, see also v30, Col 2:3). Jesus Christ is the very knowledge and wisdom of God himself. So not only do we look to Christ for a demonstration of virtue and someone to imitate, but we also look to him for wisdom and knowledge. This means that he is the one who showed wisdom by living a good life (James 3:13). We see this practical wisdom (moral skill) played out in his life. He knew when to be angry (John 2:15–16) and when to be gentle (Matt 11:29). Relating to the examples we gave in our talk on practical wisdom earlier, he knew when to speak truth (John 5:24) and when not to say anything (John 12:49–50). He was courageous when he needed to be (Luke 22:39–44) and meek or timid when needed (John 8:59, Luke 22:26–27). Christ is fully virtuous (demonstrated virtue without struggle with contrary desire), and we are called to be like him (1 John 2:6).
Finally, let’s talk about Eudaimonia. According to Thomas Aquinas, “… we can never achieve complete or final happiness in this life. For him, final happiness consists in … supernatural union with God. Such an end lies far beyond what we through our natural human capacities can attain. For this reason, we not only need the virtues, but we also need God to transform our nature-to perfect or “deify” it-so that we might be suited to participate in divine beatitude” (Floyd). We have a fallen nature as a result of sin (Romans 5). And as such, we need the supernatural work of God in our lives to transform that nature, making us perfect or deified (1 Peter 1:3–4, Heb 10:14). For the Christian, to achieve eudaimonia (true happiness, the highest good, the ultimate meaning and purpose of life, which is union with perfection itself, that is God) one needs virtue, and the supernatural work of God. As it is written “Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God” (1 Cor 7:1), and “In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence” (Eph 3:12).
In conclusion, Christian Virtue Ethics, I would say, is the way to go concerning your moral and ethical views as a Christian. This does not mean divine commands or duties, pleasure, and consequences (all things other ethical theories emphasize), don’t matter because they do; however, Biblically speaking, moral character is the primary way a Christian should think about ethics. With that said, some questions should be explored and talked about. How does virtue ethics relate to divine command theory? What does virtue ethics have to say about other aspects of Christian life? How do you attain virtue? All those questions will be explored in future articles so stick around for more!
Originally published at https://www.followersoftheshepherd.org. (Check this site out for more Christian articles)
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