Virtue is the most perdurable concept in the history of ethics, which
is understandable given the ineradicability of the moral agent in the
events of the moral life. Historically, virtue enjoyed normative force
as long as the philosophical anthropology and the metaphysics of the
good that grounded virtue were viable. That grounding has eroded in bo
th general and medical ethics. If virtue is to be restored to a normat
ive status, its philosophical underpinnings must be reconstructed. Suc
h reconstruction seems unlikely in general ethics, where the possibili
ty of agreement on the good for humans is remote. However, it is a rea
listic possibility in the professional ethics of the health profession
s where agreement on the telos of the healing relationship is more lik
ely to arise. Nevertheless, virtue-based ethics must be related concep
tually and normatively to other ethical theories in a comprehensive mo
ral philosophy of the health professions.