Intelligent virtue

by Julia Annas · 2011

In *Intelligent Virtue*, Julia Annas offers a fresh philosophical portrait of virtue, treating it not as an abstract rule but as a practical skill akin to farming, building or playing the piano. She argues that exercising a virtue involves a kind of practical reasoning that develops through training and experience, and that this process is intimately tied to an individual’s happiness and flourishing. By shifting the focus from how virtues relate to moral principles or ultimate ends to how they are acquired and exercised in everyday life, Annas illuminates the link between being virtuous and doing the right thing, showing that virtue can be both an ideal and a concrete component of personal well‑being.