Virtue ethics is a moral philosophy that prioritizes virtues inherent in character and personality. Its primary characteristics are those of high inspirational potential and striving for ideal personality, according to which moral intentions and actions coincide. However, the action-based approach views morality from a different angle, which prioritizes actions and behavior over character and intentions. From this perspective, people are judged according to their actions and not based “on whether they are virtuous people” (Pojman & Fieser, 2011, p. 152.8). The critics of the action-based theory provide valid arguments against the relevance of this approach.
In the virtue ethics chapter by Pojman and Fieser (2011), there are five criticism points of the action-based approach. Firstly, it is claimed that “action-based ethics are uninspiring” due to the dependence on moral evaluation merely on the forbidding of certain actions, as it is postulated in the Christian philosophy (Pojman & Fieser, 2011, p. 153.3). However, this claim seems invalid, since one might be motivated not to act immorally. Secondly, modern philosophers argue that action-based ethics are characterized by a close connection to legality, meaning that moral duties and obligations are no longer imposed on individuals, as they used to when ethics and religion were in unity. Thirdly, the action-based approach diminishes spontaneous moral actions, thus minimizing the role of sincerity in moral deeds. Fourthly, this approach is claimed to undermine the potential of character to develop, which, as well as the previous two criticism is valid due to the essential role of virtuous intentions in morality. Finally, the action-based approach is criticized based on the overemphasized role of autonomy in moral conduct as opposed to the key role of the community in virtue-based ethics.
Thus, the analysis of the critical points against action-based ethics allows for stating that some of them have valid logical foundations while others might be rebutted. Indeed, action-based ethics is overloaded with legality, decreases the role of spontaneous moral actions and the development of character, as well as minimizes the role of community. However, the claim concerning the lack of motivation in action-based ethics might be opposed by referring to the opportunity to be encouraged not to act immorally.
Reference
Pojman, L. P., & Fieser, J. (2011). Ethics: Discovering right and wrong. Cengage Learning.