Abstract

Underlying virtue-based ethics is the claim that there is a transcendent good, and that this good is naturally knowable. Yet, this transcendent good is knowable not only through reason, but takes on a more specific character vis-à-vis claims about divine revelation, in particular and perhaps most importantly as regards the final end of humanity. Consequently, those acts and habits which are considered virtuous in the natural ordering of man also take on a more specific character in the light of the content of divine revelation. This chapter explores the relationship between virtue ethics and revealed religion in the Aristotelian tradition, notably where there are points of convergence and development upon that which is known through reason by that which is claimed to be revealed by God.