ABSTRACT
The first challenge is to determine whether virtue ethics is an appropriate approach at all, given the concerns of Christian realism. Recognizing that Niebuhr did not formulate a sustained reflection on virtue ethics, and was arguably a critic of ‘virtue’ as he conceived it, the essay proposes that the development of a Niebuhrian Christian Realist virtue ethics is both possible and valid. Granted that Niebuhr expresses the reservations about virtue, nevertheless there are grounds to argue that his theological anthropology can plausibly serve as a basis for a Christian Realist virtue ethics. The stress that virtue ethics places on self-improvement and perfectionism has ironic parallels with the unrealistic aspirations of Social Gospel liberals that Niebuhr found superficial and infuriating. Niebuhr’s emphasis on the need to be open to correction, and to be active in the effort to self-correct, suggests an orientation toward virtue that goes beyond his critique of optimism.
