Virtue of Care and Ethics of Virtue

Abstract

There are two characteristics shared by Virtue Ethics and the Ethics of Care: a distance from deontology and consequentialism on one hand; the importance of the emotional and affective dimensions in moral discourse on the other. Nonetheless, it seems that the two theories diverge regarding the central focus of moral life: the role of the agent’s character (virtues), relationality and responsibility for others (care). Be that as it may, there is a little-considered strand which, in the 1970s, revived the concept of virtue precisely by focusing on the inescapable human dimension of care. This analysis will consider the contribution of existentialist psychology which, by reworking Heidegger’s proposal, highlighted the psychological and ethical role of care (May, Erickson). Secondly, it will trace the link between care and the flourishing of the individual (Mayeroff), and from there discuss and evaluate the connection between the ethics of care and the ethics of virtue.