Virtue (aretē)

An excellent and stable trait of character, such as courage or honesty, that disposes a person to act well.

Also: arete, aretē, excellence, the virtues, virtue ethics

What it means

The Greek word aretē means excellence of any kind; in ethics it names an excellent trait of character. As the Stanford Encyclopedia puts it, "a virtue is an excellent trait of character". Aristotle distinguished virtues of character from intellectual virtues and argued that each virtue of character lies in a mean: courage sits between cowardice and rashness. Virtues are acquired by habit and completed by practical wisdom (phronēsis), which lets a person see what a situation requires. Virtue ethics has roots in Confucius and Mencius as well as in Greek thought, and was revived in modern philosophy after G. E. M. Anscombe. Critics ask whether it can guide action as clearly as rules can.

The questions it belongs to

• 3.2.3 Character-Based ApproachesShould ethics ask what to do, or who to be?

Thinkers

• Aristotle
• Confucius
• Mencius
• G. E. M. Anscombe
• Alasdair MacIntyre

Traditions

• Greek & Roman
• Chinese
• Analytic

To read

• After Virtue — Alasdair MacIntyre
• Analects — Confucius
• Categories — Aristotle

Sources and further reading

• Virtue Ethics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)
• Aristotle’s Ethics (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy)

Written by the Coordinates of Thought editors and checked against the sources above on 29 October 2026. Not peer-reviewed. How we write and check.

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