دانشگاه قم پژوهش‌های فلسفی -کلامی 1735-9791 21 3 2019 09 23 Agency and Virtues Agency and Virtues 119 140 1465 10.22091/jptr.2019.4673.2190 FA زهرا خزاعی استاد گروه فلسفه و کلام دانشگاه قم 0000-0001-8302-9674 Journal Article 2019 09 08 Zahra khazaei* <br />Received: 01/07/2019     |       Accepted: 11/09/2019 <br />In the philosophy of action, agency manifests the capacity of the agent to act. An agent is one who acts voluntarily, consciously and intentionally. This article studies the relationship between virtues and agency to learn to what extent agency is conceptually and metaphysically dependent on moral or epistemic virtues; whether virtue is a necessary condition for action and agency, besides the belief, desire and intention? Or are virtues necessary merely for the moral or epistemic character of the agent and not his agency? If virtues are constructive elements of personal identity, can we say that virtues are necessary for action and agency? If we accept that virtues play a role in agency, the principle of “Ought Implies Can” makes us face a new challenge; which we will discuss. After explaining the concept of action and agency, I will study the relationship between agency and virtues in the field of ethics and epistemology. Ultimately, I conclude that not only in theories of virtue but also in other ethical theories, virtue is independently necessary for the actualization of agency; even if, conceptually, there might not be any relation between the two. In many cases, virtue can also have a crucial role in prudential agency. <br /><br />  <br /><br /><br />* Ph.D., Professor. Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.        ׀      Z-khazaei@qom.ac.ir <br /><br />🞕 khazaei. Z. (2019). Agency and Virtues. <em>The Journal</em><em> of Philosophical-Theological Research</em>, <em>21</em>(81), 119-140.  doi: 10.22091/jptr.2019.4673.2190. Zahra khazaei*<br />Received: 01/07/2019     |       Accepted: 11/09/2019<br />In the philosophy of action, agency manifests the capacity of the agent to act. An agent is one who acts voluntarily, consciously and intentionally. This article studies the relationship between virtues and agency to learn to what extent agency is conceptually and metaphysically dependent on moral or epistemic virtues; whether virtue is a necessary condition for action and agency, besides the belief, desire and intention? Or are virtues necessary merely for the moral or epistemic character of the agent and not his agency? If virtues are constructive elements of personal identity, can we say that virtues are necessary for action and agency? If we accept that virtues play a role in agency, the principle of “Ought Implies Can” makes us face a new challenge; which we will discuss. After explaining the concept of action and agency, I will study the relationship between agency and virtues in the field of ethics and epistemology. Ultimately, I conclude that not only in theories of virtue but also in other ethical theories, virtue is independently necessary for the actualization of agency; even if, conceptually, there might not be any relation between the two. In many cases, virtue can also have a crucial role in prudential agency.<br /><br /> <br /><br /><br />* Ph.D., Professor. Department of Islamic Philosophy and Theology, University of Qom, Qom, Iran.        ׀      Z-khazaei@qom.ac.ir<br /><br />🞕 khazaei. Z. (2019). Agency and Virtues. <em>The Journal</em><em> of Philosophical-Theological Research</em>, <em>21</em>(81), 119-140.  doi: 10.22091/jptr.2019.4673.2190. https://pfk.qom.ac.ir/article_1465_6bab76af34d5d3cbce49c8d794787ef3.pdf