MORAL AGENT:

DEVELOPING
VIRTUE AS A
HABIT
 Moral Character
• The term character is derived from the Greek word ‘charakter’ which was
initially used as a mark impressed upon a coin. The word character later
came to mean a distinct mark by which one thing was distinguished from
others, and then chiefly to mean the assemblage of qualities that distinguish one
person another.
• Moral Character refers to the existence or lack of virtues such as integrity,
courage, fortitude, honesty, and loyalty. To say that a person has a good moral
character means that he/she is a good person and a good citizen with a sound
moral compass.
 Aristotle’s definition of good moral
character

Aristotle defines virtuous character in Nicomachean Ethics II.7:

Excellence [of character], is a mean between two vices, that which
depends on excess and that which depends on defect. then, is a state
concerned with choice, lying in a mean relative to us, this being
determined by reason and in the way in which the man of practical
wisdom would determine it. (1106b36–1107a3)
• By calling excellence of character it is the
settled condition we are in when we are well
off in relation to feelings and actions or in a a
mean or intermediate state in regard to them.
If, on the other hand, we have a vicious
character, we are badly off in relation to
feelings and actions, and we fail to hit the
mean in regard to them.
 Character Philosopher usually think that moral character
vs. traits, unlike personality or psychological traits,
have an irreducibly evaluative dimension; that is

personality they involve normative judgment.

Therefore, the agent is morally responsible for

having the moral character trait itself or for the
outcome of the trait. A certain moral character
trait is a trait for which the agent is morally
responsible.
 Moral • Dispositions- are particular kinds of properties
or characteristics that objects can possess e.g.
Character as elasticity of rubber band, fragility of porcelain

Dispositions • Among human beings, moral character traits

(either virtues or vices) are also considered as
dispositions. Moral character traits are those
dispositions of character for which it is
suitable to hold agents morally responsible.
• A good moral character is practically a
disposition to do virtuous acts. Oppositely, a
bad moral character, is, in effect, a disposition
to do vicious deeds.
SIX STAGES OF
MORAL
DEVELOPMENT BY
LAWRENCE
KOHLBERG
 3 Distinct Levels of Moral
Reasoning

• Level 1: Pre-Conventional Morality

• Stage 1. Obedience and Punishment Orientation
• Stage 2. Individualism and Exchange
• Level 2: Conventional Morality
• Stage 3. Good Interpersonal Relationships
• Stage 4. Maintaining the Social Order
• Level 3: Post-Conventional Morality
• Stage 5. Social Contract and Individual Rights
• Stage 6. Universal Principles
STAGE 1. RESPECT FOR
POWER AND
PUNISHMENT
(OBEDIENCE)
- A YOUNG CHILD (AGE 1-5)
CHOOSES WHAT TO DO-WHAT
IS RIGHT- ACCORDING TO
WHAT HE/SHE WANTS TO DO
AND CAN DO WITHOUT
GETTING INTO TROUBLE. IN
THIS LEVEL, TO BE RIGHT, ONE
OUGHT TO BE OBEDIENT TO
THE PEOPLE IN POWER AND,
THUS, AVOID PUNISHMENT

MOTTO: “MIGHT MAKES

RIGHT”
Stage 2. Exchange of
Favors (Self-Interest)
• Children (age 5-10) are disposed to be
egotistic or self-serving. They lack respect for
others’ rights but may give to others on the
assumption that they will get as much or even
more in return. Instead of loyalty, gratitude, or
justice, the case is more matter of “you scratch
my back and I’ll scratch yours.
• Motto: “What’s in it for me?”
• Stage 3. Being a “Good boy” or
“Nice Girl” (Conformity)
• In this stage, people (age 6-18)
have shifted from pleasing
themselves to pleasing important
others, usually parents, teachers,
or friends. They seek approval and
thus conform to someone else’s
expectations. When charged of
doing something wrong, their
behavior is likely to be justified
by stating “everyone else is doing
it” or “ I didn’t intend to hurt
anyone”
• MOTTO: “I want to be nice.”
• Stage 4. Law and Order Thinking
• The majority of people (16 years old and older)
have internalized society’s rules about how to
behave. They feel indebted to conform, no longer
to just family or friends, but also to society’s laws
and customs. They realize that it is important to
do one’s duty to maintain social order.
• Social leaders are assumed to be right and social
rules are adopted without considering the core
moral principles involved. Thus, social control is
exercised through guilt, in which it is an
automatic emotional response, not a rational
reaction of conscience based on moral principles.
• Motto: “I’ll do my duty.”
• Stage 5. Justice through Democracy
• In this stage, people understand the underlying
moral purposes that are supposed to be served by
laws and social customs. When a law in
democracy ceases to serve a good purpose, they
thus feel the people ought to get active and change
the law.
• Respect for the law and a sense of obligation to
live by the rules are present, as long as rules were
established in a fair manner and fulfill a moral
purpose.
• It is said that only about 20-25% of today’s adults
ever reach this stage and most of those that do
supposedly only get there after their mid-twenties.
• Motto: “I’ll live by the rules or try to change
them.” (person’s choice is essential)
• Stage 6. Deciding on basic moral principles by which
you will live your life and relate to everyone fairly
(Universal human ethics)
• In this stage, rare people have evaluated many values and
have rationally chosen a philosophy of life that truly
guides life. Morally developed, they do not automatically
conform to tradition or others’ beliefs, and even to their
own emotions, intuition, or impulsive notions about right
or wrong.
• People are tough enough to act on their values even if
others may think they are odd or if their beliefs are
against man’s law
• Social control in this age is exercised through guilt
associated with the rational reaction of conscience based
on moral principles
• Reaching this stage is seen at least, as getting to the
highest level, conscience based moral decisions.
END.