Transformation of the Concept of Virtue in the British Moral Philosophy of 18th Century

The paper discusses the concept of virtue in the modern ethics. The author reveals the specifics of this concept in modern moral philosophy, identifies the place of the concept of virtue in the system of other moral concepts, such as law, duty, obligation, etc., by means of which the modern conceptions of morality has been constructed. The analysis of contemporary research and the works of modern moral philosophers shows that the main change in the concept of virtue is that it is no longer considered as the main concept around which the conceptions of morality are elaborated. The concept of virtue is most often used as an auxiliary concept to express the consistency and determination of a person (his will) in the fulfilment of the prescriptions of the moral law or considered as a result of the consistent fulfilment of moral duty. In terms of moral content, virtue in most modern moral-philosophical conceptions was associated with love, or benevolence. Love, or benevolence, opposes the sphere of justice, which, unlike the sphere of virtue, is regulated by precisely formulated laws and rules. Both spheres are recognized as extremely important: justice as a sphere of laws and rules ensures the survival of society, and love and benevolence as a sphere of virtue promote the maintenance of proper human relations and improve the quality of public life. Besides that, the doctrines constituted around the concept of virtue emphasize that the inner character of moral motivation is a key feature of morality. The distinction in the conceptions of morality between the spheres of laws, rules, on the one hand, and virtues, on the other hand, implies that the modern moral philosophers understood complexity and heterogeneity of the phenomenon of morality and supposed that a more complex conceptual apparatus is required to grasp it.

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