is important in terms of both process and outcome. This is to say, that human
flourishing is valued as both ends and means of practice because human flourishing by
definition requires attention to the general effects on well-being, not just on, for
example, the physical results of interventions. In addition, the pursuit of whichever
excellences are appropriate to a practice is a necessary component of that practice. The
excellences of nursing as a practice include the provision of a high standard of nursing
care however this is defined within any particular interaction between nurse(s) and
patient(s). The internal goods associated with the pursuit of this ideal might include the
professional satisfaction of a job well done and pleasure at the attempt of making a
positive difference to the well-being of a patient. As MacIntyre notes, in a practice the
achievement of such internal goods requires their pursuit to be consistent with (at a
minimum) the core virtues of honesty, courage and justice. As such, engaging with a
practice not only provides a place in modernity for virtues to flourish but also offers a
route by which the virtues can be encouraged as a result Ofhabituation and as a result of
the recognition by practitioners that the goods internal to that practice are only available
if one engages with the activity as a practice. Thus it would seem that nursing does
indeed meet the second criterion insofar as nursing can be said to offer the possibility of
realising goods internal to nursing practice. Further, it seems that the pursuit of
excellence in the practice of nursing is a reality for those nurses who take seriously the
business of nursing; that is, the pursuit of the professional ideal of service for the
betterment of patients. Thus, in pursuit of nursing as a practice not only is the
flourishing of patients facilitated but also the flourishing of nurses qua humans is
enabled.
The core virtues of practices
The virtues of honesty, courage and justice are of central importance to a practice
precisely because they offer a defence against the corrupting influences of institutions
and the associated tendency of emphases on goods of effectiveness. Without these three
virtues the essential connection between ends and means is lost; in other words,
practices cannot survive without the virtues of honesty, courage and justice. MacIntyre
provides an outline sketch of the central importance of these three virtues in After
Virtue. He says of a practice:
.. .its [internal] goods can only be achieved by subordinating ourselves within
the practice in our relationship to other practitioners. We have to Ieam to
recognize what is due to whom; we have to be prepared to take whatever self-
endangering risks are demanded along the way; and we have to listen carefully
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