Happily, the disagreements about whether traits of character and the manifestation of them in action are intrinsically worthwhile do not much affect the questions of what traits are just worthwhile, and what can be done for their encouragement. On this there is almost universal agreement. Roughly, the traits of mind that are desirable are those the exercise of which in living enhances the realization of other goods in life: including courage, self-discipline, wisdom, respect for and thoughtfulness about the welfare of other conscious beings, fairness and impartiality, conscientiousness (concern to fulfill one's obligations), veracity, kindliness, prudence, honesty, reliability, persistence, and tolerance. The importance of these has long been recognized.
(Richard B. Brandt, Ethical Theory: The Problems of Normative and Critical Ethics, Prentice-Hall Philosophy Series, ed. Arthur E. Murphy [Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall, 1959], 345 [italics in original])
