While there are many ways to address and teach ethics, two stand out to out to me as a exemplary ways to develop the individual for ethical living. The first is Virtue Ethics (or Virtue Theory), and the second (very closely related) is the study and emulation of examples, either real or literary, of good behavior (or the study and avoidance of examples of evil).
“Virtue ethics is currently one of three major approaches in normative ethics. It may, initially, be identified as the one that emphasizes the virtues, or moral character, in contrast to the approach that emphasizes duties or rules (deontology) or that emphasizes the consequences of actions (consequentialism). Suppose it is obvious that someone in need should be helped. A utilitarian will point to the fact that the consequences of doing so will maximize well-being, a deontologist to the fact that, in doing so the agent will be acting in accordance with a moral rule such as “Do unto others as you would be done by” and a virtue ethicist to the fact that helping the person would be charitable or benevolent.” (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
Deontological or utilitarian theories can be useful frames of thinking, especially when working through ethical dilemmas where the right action is difficult to discern. They can provide helpful guidance for determining ethical behavior, especially in grey areas. However, in most situations we know what the right thing to do is or we rely on our intuition to size up the situation, rather than subjecting it to formal philosophical analysis. Often we need less help in figuring out how to act justly, but rather in training ourselves to actually do so. As the Roman emperor and stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius reminded himself in his Meditiations, “Waste no more time thinking about what a good man is; be one”. This is where virtue ethics comes in. We become good by cultivating virtues. The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy offers a good definition of virtue:
“A virtue is an excellent trait of character. It is a disposition, well entrenched in its possessor—something that, as we say, goes all the way down, unlike a habit such as being a tea-drinker—to notice, expect, value, feel, desire, choose, act, and react in certain characteristic ways. To possess a virtue is to be a certain sort of person with a certain complex mindset. A significant aspect of this mindset is the wholehearted acceptance of a distinctive range of considerations as reasons for action.”
The person who possesses a certain virtue will naturally act in accordance with it. Virtues can be gained or lost, or more aptly exercised and grown or neglected and atrophying. Aristotle employs this analogy of virtue as muscle.
Secondly, I think virtue ethics are brilliant in that they provide a framework for the actor to become not only good but happy:
“The latter [happiness] comprises the theme of the Ethics, a book so dedicated to the pursuit of fulfillment and enjoyment that even virtue is understood, not only as the foundation of morality, but also as that which is also most pleasant in life. Perhaps it is not too bold to claim of Aristotle’s Ethics that there exists no other book more directly focused on the achievement of human happiness. And perhaps nowhere else can such wisdom be gleaned so that this goal is made accessible to anyone who chooses to strive towards it”. (Robert J. Anderson in Reclaiming the Humanities: The Roots of Self-Knowledge in the Greek and Biblical Worlds)
There is a deep connection between morality and happiness, which I think we may be too quick to gloss over in our search for objective answers.
Hank Green does a good job of illustrating Aristotle’s link between virtue/excellence and happiness/flourishing (It’s also a bit of Publicly Funded Digital Content which I wrote about in my Issue Brief. Keepin’ it civic):
Virtue must be developed over time through repeated action. Theoretical orientations can only be of a limited use in this regard. But, while life experience (lived while striving for excellence) may be the primary factor for developing virtue, humanistic study can aid us greatly as well. If not already perfectly good, as few of us are, we need models of moral exemplars who we can emulate and gradually become more like. These models of virtuous behavior may come in real life, and different people will be admirable in different virtues.
Humanistic study helps fill these gap. If we do not personally know someone who is exemplary in a particular virtue or have a model for how to carry ourselves in a certain type of situation, we can look to history, myth, and literature for examples. This allows us to survey a much wider spectrum of the human condition than we are able to encounter on our own. Fictional, and especially mythologized, examples can be especially helpful in this regard in that characters can be crafted to be ideal archetypes, displaying the essence of certain qualities, and the author can place them in situations in which their character traits will be on full display.