Abelard and the Contemporary Virtue Theory

Abstract

Contemporary ‘Virtue theory’ emphasizes the need to return to the moral formation of the individual, following the ethical model provided by Aristotle. According to MacIntyre, an important representative of this theory, Stoicism favored the development of modern and contemporary ethics by highlighting notions such as will, consent, and natural or divine law. The development of the moral agent itself was consequently neglected. In
the twelfth century Abelard presents a hybrid ethics, which maintains at the same time the Aristotelian theory of virtue and elements of Stoic morality. In the present study, we consider MacIntyre’s criticism of Abelardian ethics, estimated to be at the origin of modern and contemporary moral conceptions.