ABSTRACT
Aristotelian character ethics starts with a theory of moral goodness as that which is appropriately related to the good life for human beings. Human goodness consists, ultimately, in functioning well as kind of thing they are: rational, social animals. Communication technologies can shape the ways that human interact, but their pre-existing character traits also shape the ways that they use them. Asynchronous communication channels such as text and email enhance both senders' and recipients' communicative autonomy. Most obviously, they do so because an asynchronous message, such as a text, voicemail, Snap, direct message, or email, can be sent at sender's convenience without waiting for the recipient to be available. Private and ephemeral communication channels such as Snapchat facilitate disclosure of sensitive information. Objections to the claim that the range of communication channels is best handled by appeal to contextual features considered using the framework of virtue ethics, supplemented by an account of nature of flourishing friendship, can involve several strategies.
