Uploaded December 2020 | Updated September 2026, 2 hours ago
Virtue ethics is the approach to ethics that starts with the idea that we should become better (more virtuous) people. A ‘virtue’ is basically a good habit, and the idea of a practice, such as mindfulness, seems to be very much about cultivating good habits. However, we need to think about what makes a habit ‘good’, and the problem is that different groups have different assumptions about that ‘good’. Integration will be suggested as the key idea that can help us decide what is a virtuous habit for us on our specific path. However, developing good habits also doesn’t automatically make our decisions right, and virtue ethics still leaves us needing to make judgements about what to do in specific situations.
This talk by Robert M. Ellis, followed by Q&A, is the third in a series of discussions of a Middle Way approach to ethics as part of the Middle Way Network. It was recorded on Zoom on 6th Dec 2020. For more information about the Middle Way Network please visit middlewaysociety.org/events/middle-way-network
Virtue ethics is the approach to ethics that starts with the idea that we should become better (more virtuous) people. A ‘virtue’ is basically a good habit, and the idea of a practice, such as mindfulness, seems to be very much about cultivating good habits. However, we need to think about what makes a habit ‘good’, and the problem is that different groups have different assumptions about that ‘good’. Integration will be suggested as the key idea that can help us decide what is a virtuous habit for us on our specific path. However, developing good habits also doesn’t automatically make our decisions right, and virtue ethics still leaves us needing to make judgements about what to do in specific situations.
This talk by Robert M. Ellis, followed by Q&A, is the third in a series of discussions of a Middle Way approach to ethics as part of the Middle Way Network. It was recorded on Zoom on 6th Dec 2020. For more information about the Middle Way Network please visit middlewaysociety.org/events/middle-way-network
