ABSTRACT
The concept of moral development is a 20th-century notion, although it has strong roots in classical philosophy. Aristotle believed that ethical actions sprang from the character of the actor, and that character was the totality of the expression of the cardinal Greek virtues. Aristotle did not consider that character was developed so much as it was exercised by daily living. The person who exercised his or her character in an ethical way was called a phrenemos: Greek for “a person of practical wisdom.” This concept of virtuous people doing virtuous things was carried forward essentially unchanged until the 20th century when scholars such as Freud began to document how the human psyche grows and changes, particularly from childhood to adulthood. Psychologists now label this process development.
