This paper claims that the fact that people hold certain character traits more valuable than others is practically inevitable. This is part of the human condition as all humans have ideals concerning what they want to be as human beings. In postmodern era, however, the “grand narratives” have lost their ability to bind together societies, value systems, and identities. Solid basis for virtues are often considered dead with the secularization and globally disintegrated nation state. According to Aristotle, however, virtue is an integral part of good life and good society. Postmodern society and education is also based on virtues. To educate without an idea of direction of education is arbitrary and good education is not arbitrary, but consistent with goals and competences it wants to achieve.

In this paper we argue for sensual basis for virtue-ethics, based on phenomenological inquiry. Even though the traditional basis of virtues is religion and national ideologies, we claim there is a possibility for sensually based virtues based on bodily existence. We make, thus, an argument, first, for sensual basis of virtues using Merleau-Ponty’s philosophy and Abrams’ interpretation of Merleau-Ponty. Second, we base our case for virtues to ecological realities and necessities. Learning the common ground for human and non-human beings enables overcoming the disinterested attitude towards nature and its living beings. Realizing the common “flesh” of all life can be a pedagogical experience, which facilitate the realization of the need for virtuous behavior towards living beings regardless of their humanity. The idea of flesh comes from Merleau-Ponty’s late philosophy.

Third, our case for sensual basis for virtue ethics rests the conception of common sense in agricultural economic theory, which is in critical position towards the main stream neoclassical economy and neoliberalism of our day. The thought of such agricultural economist as Wendell Berry (which is also philosopher, poet, writer, farmer etc.) and John Ikerd are used for giving light to the fact that ecological realities are tied to virtues of character. Our common sense is, on the other hand, also rooted in our bodily being and using our senses. Sensitivity towards life is based on sensuality of human being and sensitivity is a key ecological virtue enabling the realization of the value of virtues in general. Fourth, the common sense of human being is also based on perennial ethics. By perennial ethics we refer to those core human ethical values that are “distilled” from human social history and prolonged human experience. These virtues are core values shared widely in different cultures and societies; honesty, friendliness, generosity, helpfulness, mutuality, and so on. People across the political spectrum seem to valuing perennial core values, which can be interpreted, using the concept of flesh, as applying to all living beings.

There are two basic possibilities for learning virtues: 1) the hard way of facing climate change, sinking cities, armies of environmental refugees, poisoned topsoil and so on. Or 2) the easier way of communal realization that human that we need to give serious attention to the carrying capacity of this earth to survive in the long run. The fact that ecological virtues (Sandler 2013) have to be learned is self-evident in the light of environmental knowledge or the twentieth first century. In this paper we show how sensuous virtues of sensitivity, common sense, friendliness, helpfulness, enlightened self-interest, generosity, frugality and so are part of the perennial ethics that can be used in educational justification of ecological virtues.

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