In Defence of Nudging from a Virtue Ethics Perspective

Nudging is typically understood as a design intended to influence the behaviour or choices of decision-makers to promote their own or other stakeholders’ welfare by steering choices in beneficial directions without restricting their freedom of choice. This paper explores the ethical dimensions of nudging and provides an account that defends the framework of nudging from a virtue ethics perspective. We will do so by examining the design and purposes of nudging and its relationship with welfare, virtue and eudaimonia. We argue that the notion of welfare in nudging is closely associated with the notion of external goods in the Nicomachean Ethics and that certain nudges can be helpful in cultivating virtues. We refer to nudges such as virtue-conducive nudges that aim to enhance welfare and also support the cultivation of virtues over time. We identify two key pathways to explore the interplay between nudging, virtue, welfare and eudaimonia. In the first pathway, we discuss those nudges which aim at promoting welfare and also contribute to the development of virtues over time. The second pathway explores those nudges that enhance welfare as a consequence of virtue development. In the Nicomachean Ethics, both welfare and virtues are essential for attaining eudaimonia. By exploring the relationships between nudging, welfare and virtue, this paper provides an account that defends the design and practice of nudging from a virtue ethics perspective.