ABSTRACT
This chapter offers eight distinct takes on the messy theme of measuring Aristotelian virtue for the purposes of character education. The problem remains that no tried-and-tested instruments to concretise and measure moral virtue on an Aristotelian naturalist-realist conception seem to exist. Those instruments rely on self-reports and thus do not go the full distance towards solving the profoundest problem. Aristotle's theory offers clearer specifications of the terms 'character', 'virtue' and 'character education' than any of the more recent contenders. There are reasons to be sceptical both of that particular construct and the methods typically used by personality psychologists to measure it. The briefest of Web searches demonstrates that the commonest instruments to measure virtue in students and adults are self-report instruments. The most widely used of these seems to be the set developed by positive psychologists as part of their values in action (VIA) project to chart and measure universal character strengths and virtues.
