Abstract

Legitimate confusion over the use of the language of character arises over the topic of that language and its relation to the concepts of story and community often associated with it. This essay argues that the proper topic of the language of character is the self in relation, and that a phenomenology of the self in relation is the first step in an ethics of character. Four elements of character are thus described, and a consideration of the role of story and community in the formation of character over time points the way to the use of the language of character in practical moral reflection.