Virtue and Moral Deference

Moral deference has come under attack for undercutting moral understanding, and thus, for undermining virtue. This essay defends the view that moral deference and virtue are not incompatible. Indeed, responsible moral deference is a kind of coping virtue, a trait that has value in counteracting either and agent's own deficiencies, or conditions that undermine the application of moral understanding in a particular practical situation (such as when the agent has insufficient time to deliberate).