Now that we have a better understanding of the nature of a virtue ethics approach, and of its distinctiveness and plausibility by comparison with its consequentialist and Kantian rivals, let us consider how this approach could be applied to the specific case of professional roles. In this chapter, we demonstrate how virtue ethics can provide a useful account of the nature and moral significance of professional roles. We begin by outlining briefly a general framework which indicates the conditions under which a person could be regarded, on our virtue ethics approach, as performing a good professional role, after which we present an account of some of the distinctive strengths of this general approach to professional roles.

Broadly speaking, what counts as acting well in the context of a professional role is in our view importantly determined by how well that role functions in serving the goals of the profession, and by how those goals are connected with characteristic human activities. That is, good professional roles must be part of a good profession, and a good profession, on our virtue ethics approach, is one which involves a commitment to a key human good, a good which plays a crucial role in enabling us to live a humanly flourishing life. Further, while a certain profession itself may meet these requirements, it must also be possible to demonstrate how the particular role under scrutiny contributes to the overall goal of that profession.