Virtue ethics can be defined as an ethical approach that emphasises the character of the agent. Whereas consequentialism emphasises the consequences of the action, and deontological ethics the rules that one may follow, virtue ethics define a virtuous act by a certain virtue in the agent, for example benevolence or generosity. Virtue ethics is not in conflict with deontological or consequentialist approaches, and can even be reconciled with them. The action driven by virtue ethics actually precedes the other two approaches: while deontological ethics or consequentialism addresses what is to be done in any given situation, virtue ethics focuses on the ways to develop certain virtues, or character patterns, in order to act well when needed. The main problem for virtue ethics, then, is 1) to define which virtues are desirable, and 2) how to develop them.

Medicine of the Soul, Bahram Elahi, Associated University Presse, 2001 In the latest volume of Foundations of Natural Spirituality, Bahram Elahi, M.D., continues to build upon the analogy between the physiological processes of the human body and those of its intangible counterpart, the soul or “psychospiritual organism”. Juxtaposing the science of medicine with that of [...]