The Family as Moral Center

Moral development fosters virtue, character, and a sensitivity to know when and how to act. Families serve as crucibles for moral development. They are expected to develop moral strength in their members by instilling virtuous character, but what does this mean for contemporary families? The purpose of this paper is to promote the use of virtue ethics as a means of moral education in family life. A definition of virtue and virtue ethics is presented in order to clarify the meaning of these concepts. An evolutionary hermeneutic is then presented as a basis for considering the cardinal virtues as basic content for moral education in the family context.