Instead of asking "What should I do?" what if the real question is "What kind of person should I be?"

Focus on CHARACTER TRAITS—courage, honesty, compassion, wisdom. A good person does good naturally.

🏛️ Aristotle's view: Ethics is about becoming virtuous, not following rules

🎯 The question: "What would a person of good character do here?"

Virtue is built through practice—by repeatedly doing virtuous actions until they become habits.

🔄 The circle: Virtuous actions → virtuous habits → virtuous character → virtuous actions

📚 Role models: Learn what virtue looks like by watching virtuous people

Virtues are the MIDDLE between two vices—excess and deficiency.

⚖️ Example: Courage is between cowardice (too little) and recklessness (too much)

🎁 Example: Generosity is between stinginess and wastefulness

Even with good character, you need practical wisdom to know what to do in each situation.

💡 Phronesis: The skill to read situations and respond appropriately

🎯 Integration: Character provides values; situations require judgment

Rules can't cover every situation. A person of good character knows what to do without a rulebook.

🔍 Character provides: Reliable motivation, stable responses, portable guidance

🎯 The question: "What would a person I admire do here?"

Sometimes we need to know if a specific action is right or wrong, regardless of who's doing it.

⚖️ Rules provide: Clear standards, accountability, guidance for hard cases

🤔 The puzzle: A "virtuous person" can still make mistakes

Character shapes how you approach situations. Rules help when character alone isn't enough.

📋 Practical approach: Develop good character AND know ethical principles

💡 Integration: Character for motivation, rules for guidance, wisdom to apply both

Neither character nor rules alone is enough. The best ethical thinking uses both.

🎯 The goal: Be a good person who does good things for good reasons

💡 Wisdom: Character provides the "why," rules help with the "what"

Ethics should tell us what to DO. Actions affect others; character is just internal.

⚖️ Rules matter: Clear standards, accountability, objective evaluation

🎯 The question: "Is this action right or wrong?"

Rules can't cover every situation. Someone following rules reluctantly isn't truly good.

😤 The problem: Following rules while hating to doesn't seem like real virtue

🤔 Character gap: Rules tell you what to do, not who to be

Character provides: motivation (WANTING to do right), reliability (consistent behavior), and guidance where rules are silent.

💡 Portable: You carry your character everywhere, but can't carry a rulebook

🎭 Motivation: A good person does good things naturally, not reluctantly

Actions matter, but so does what kind of person does them. The best ethics considers both.

🎯 Integration: Rules for guidance, character for motivation and judgment

💡 Goal: Be the kind of person who naturally does the right thing