Aretaic turn
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The aretaic turn is a movement in contemporary moral philosophy and ethics to emphasize character and human excellence or virtue, as opposed to moral rules or consequences. This movement has been extended to other philosophical disciplines, including epistemology, political philosophy, and jurisprudence. The word "aretaic" is derived from the ancient Greek word arete, meaning excellence or virtue. "Aretaic" thus means "of or pertaining to virtue or excellence". In contemporary philosophy, aretaic approaches are those which focus on human excellence or virtue.
One of the earlier modern works that addressed (but did not explicitly mention) the aretaic turn was G. E. M. Anscombe's paper Modern Moral Philosophy, published in 1958. In this work, also notable for its introduction of the term "consequentialism", Anscombe criticises Kantian, utilitarian, and deontological theories of moral philosophy. Instead, Anscombe argues for Aristotelian ethics. Since Anscombe's work was published, scholars such as Philippa Foot, Peter Geach, Rosalind Hursthouse, John McDowell, Michael Slote, and Christine Swanton have also published works in character and moral philosophy. In the paper The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theories, Michael Stocker summarises the main aretaic criticisms of deontological and consequentialist ethics.
The aretaic turn in moral philosophy is paralleled by analogous developments in other philosophical disciplines. One of these is epistemology, where a distinctive virtue epistemology has been developed by Linda Zagzebski and others. In political theory, there has been discussion of "virtue politics", and in legal theory, there is a small but growing body of literature on virtue jurisprudence. The aretaic turn also exists in American constitutional theory, where it argues for an emphasis on virtue and vice of constitutional adjudicators.
Aretaic approaches to morality, epistemology, and jurisprudence have been the subject of intense debates. One criticism that is frequently made focuses on the problem of guidance; opponents such as Robert Louden, in his seminal article "Some Vices of Virtue Ethics" question whether the idea of a virtuous moral actor, believer, or judge can provide the guidance necessary for action, belief formation, or the decision of legal disputes.
