Virtue Ethics and Disasters

Abstract

Virtue ethics studies the character traits of good persons. This includes analysis of how ordinary persons can emulate moral role models in order to improve their moral character. This chapter investigates the link between virtues and disasters by relating classic and contemporary virtue ethical thinking to the character traits of humanity and resilience. The article finds ample support for the claim that these two character traits can be analysed as virtues and that classical virtue theorists can help us articulate the content of these traits. The contemporary discourse about virtues and disasters includes the long-standing analysis of the role of reason and emotions in virtues but the discourse also considers what kind of virtues that are relevant in disaster situations. Two important examples of the latter are the virtues of humanitarian workers and the virtues of those who suffer disasters. The chapter conclude that that future research should consider how training can strengthen individual resilience and how the pursuit of moral excellence can be included in the humanitarian field as a complement to minimum standards.