wojtyla
karol
As explained by John Paul II (Laborem Exercens, 1981), the dignity of work demands some specific features without which the personal value of work cannot be fully realized. Such features are mainly described in terms of the subjective dimension of work constituted by the capacity to act with responsibility, creativity, and with a vocational sense (1981). These features, however, can be better understood from the particular philosophical approach of subjectivity or first-personal ethics. According to Wojtyla (1978) is important to see that each of us experiences the structure of self-possession and self-domination as being essential to the personal ‘I’, as forming the personal subjectivity of man, while he is experiencing a moral value, good or evil.​​​​​
Thus, the argument for a subjective approach is not simply a change of perspective (Wojtyla, 1977), but a markedly different epistemological ground according to which personal virtues in work are explained and learned in a different manner.
Henceforth, the Catholic Social Teaching—particularly since the works of the Polish Pope—is not only characterized by an original ethics of dignity applied to personal work but also by an understanding of work in its subjective or first-person perspective. It is a valuable perspective according to which, in our opinion, the moral education of future professionals can be reframed towards increasing the impact on their character.
On the other hand, Catholic Social Teaching—while meriting appreciation in its own right as a comprehensive system of thought—has long benefited from philosophical argumentation, particularly from classical philosophy and phenomenology, as a means of establishing interdisciplinary connections with other fields and engaging non-Catholic audiences. In this regard, Virtue Ethics—especially neo-Aristotelianism and New Natural Law theory—has consistently offered arguments that, while consonant with the views of Catholic Social Teaching, facilitate integration with other disciplines and practical sciences such as law, management, education, and psychology.​
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Nevertheless, we contend that a theory of work and professional ethics developed from a Virtue Ethics perspective and aligned with Catholic Social Teaching has not yet achieved significant theoretical advances. For example, neither MacIntyre, within his neo-Aristotelian framework, nor John Finnis, within New Natural Law theory, explicitly addresses the concept of professional ethics, despite having developed a rich set of philosophical ideas from which a theory of work ethics could be derived.
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Accordingly, this project seeks to formulate a theory of professional virtue ethics centered on the principle of dignity. We aim to show that working persons who aspire to ethical excellence—understood as the pursuit of the full range of ideals and demands constitutive of a life well lived—should seek to conduct themselves with creativity, responsibility, and a vocational sense, thereby dignifying both their own work and the lives of others.​
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