The Application of Virtue Ethics in the Methodology of Applied Ethics

Facing challenges and solving ethical problems, inductivism in applied ethics methodology, recognized as a model, puts emphasis on decision-making due to the specific conditions of each particular issue instead of appealing to general theories or principles. This model, also called “bottom-up model,” has various kinds. Although virtue ethics is regarded as an inductivist model by some approaches, it is not my concern here. This paper, rather, raises the question as to what role virtue ethics can play in applied ethics methodology. To answer this question, the analytic descriptive method is used, virtue ethics’ standards are given a new interpretation, and approaches of the kind appropriate to the issues of applied ethics methodology are analyzed. The result is that only the non-teleological approach in virtue ethics is compatible with the inductivist model, and this approach proves to be wrong. This approach aside, if virtue ethics is used in applied ethics methodology, it will produce great outcomes. It is more advantageous to use virtue ethics in applied ethics methodology than to use any other moral theories. In addition, the outcomes and advantages of this theory can be enriched and completed by an Islamic view.