Chapter 3: Character Formation in Professional Education: A Word of Caution

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Advances in Bioethics

ISSN: 1479-3709
Series editor(s): Dr Wayne Shelton

Subject Area: Health Care Management/Healthcare

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Document Information:
Title:	Chapter 3: Character Formation in Professional Education: A Word of Caution
Author(s):	Robert M. Veatch
Volume:	10 Editor(s): Nuala Kenny, Wayne Shelton ISBN: 978-0-76231-196-5 eISBN: 978-1-84950-339-6
Citation:	Robert M. Veatch (2006), Chapter 3: Character Formation in Professional Education: A Word of Caution, in Nuala Kenny, Wayne Shelton (ed.) Lost Virtue (Advances in Bioethics, Volume 10), Emerald Group Publishing Limited, pp.29-45
DOI:	10.1016/S1479-3709(06)10003-5 (Permanent URL)
Publisher:	Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Article type:	Chapter Item
Abstract:	This chapter questions the role of virtues in health professional medical ethics. It distinguishes between the ethics of conduct – usually expressed as moral principles – and the ethics of the character – expressed as virtues. It questions whether virtues are intrinsically valued or valued instrumentally as the means to right conduct. It poses two problems for virtue theory: (1) The “naked virtue” problem – whether instilling virtues increases the probability of correlative morally right conduct, and (2) the “wrong virtue” problem–which of many sometimes controversial virtues should be promoted. The chapter ends by arguing that these are less serious problems for the morality of conduct.