ABSTRACT
Virtue ethics, the dominant outlook in classical Greek philosophy, holds that excellences of character are of central importance in moral life. The analysis of subjective personal traits is ill-suited, however, to subsequent Enlightenment theories that grounded ethics not in individual character but in moral actions subject to universal, rational rules. These approaches concentrate on morally right action as determined by its consequences (in utilitarian, teleological ethics, actions should produce the greatest good for the greatest number) or absolute moral duty (in Kantian, deontological ethics, it is imperative that actions categorically follow principles irrespective of results).
