From Morality to Virtue
About: This article is published in Social Theory and Practice.The article was published on 1994-07-01. It has received 74 citations till now. The article focuses on the topics: Virtue & Morality.
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TL;DR: The authors argue that, despite the progress made in recent years, virtue argumentation theory still lacks a more systematic acknowledgment of other-regarding virtues, and argue that a fully virtuous arguer should care both about his own development as an arguer and with helping other arguers in that regard.
Abstract: In this paper, I argue that, despite the progress made in recent years, virtue argumentation theory still lacks a more systematic acknowledgment of other-regarding virtues. A fuller recognition of such virtues not only enriches the field of research of virtue argumentation theory in significant ways, but also allows for a richer and more intuitive view of the virtuous arguer. A fully virtuous arguer, it is argued, should care to develop both self-regarding and other-regarding virtues. He should be concerned both with his own development as an arguer and with helping other arguers in that regard.
10 citations
17 Sep 2013
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors present a statement of originality and acknowledgements and statement of origin for their work. But they do not specify the authorship of the work.
Abstract: .............................................................................................................................. ii Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................ iv Statement of Originality ..................................................................................................... vi Chapter
9 citations
TL;DR: Aristotelian analyses of character have been used for a greater appreciation of the moral and spiritual significance of one of the most powerful and compelling myths of western Christian culture as mentioned in this paper.
Abstract: Recent moral and social theory--especially that of a more communitarian and/or virtue-ethical character--has greatly stressed the positive potential of great cultural narratives for moral and spiritual formation and education. On this view, there is much to be learned about human nature and character, and about the human struggle between good and evil, from the great myths and legends of cultural inheritance. From this viewpoint, it is also significant that Aristotelian ethics, which has been a prime inspiration for such emphases on the moral significance of narrative, is also the source of a much neglected account of the psychological structure and dynamics of virtuous character. The present paper attempts to show how this Aristotelian analyses of character might be employed for a greater appreciation of the moral and spiritual significance of one of the most powerful and compelling myths of western Christian culture.
9 citations
Cites background from "From Morality to Virtue"
...…ethical views were developed long ago, they have been subject to significant recent philosophical revival and development (see, for example, Slote, 1992; Hursthouse, 1999; and for overviews, Pence, 1984; Oakley, 1996) not least in the context of widespread rejection of more cognitive or…...
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01 Jan 2013
TL;DR: In this article, the authors present the main reasons in favor of a classification of Hume among virtue ethicists and argue that the strength of Hume's version of virtue ethics is that he aims at the unity of character instead of unity of the virtues, which makes it possible to develop a pluralistic and secularized morality that denies any supposed final cause or télos for human beings conceived as a species.
Abstract: More and more scholars, for various and often contrasting reasons, have recently put Hume’s moral philosophy under the heading ‘virtue ethics’. Also, many contemporary philosophers are trying to elaborate a specific form of Humean virtue ethics to be contrasted with the more famous neo-Aristotelian alternatives. Hence, as occurred with the renaissance of Aristotelian virtue ethics, it appears that there is space to develop a full-fledged Humean version of it as well. My scope here, however, is more limited. After having presented the main reasons in favor of a classification of Hume among virtue ethicists, what I would like to do is to take into account some recent attempts at presenting a virtue ethical interpretation of Hume, with the aim of shedding some light on the theoretical direction I believe a project of a systematic Humean virtue ethics should take. I shall proceed by addressing some specific issues raised by the favorable reading of Hume provided by Christine Swanton1 and by the criticism moved against Hume by Rosalind Hursthouse.2 By doing that I’ll argue that Hume offers the philosophical tools to redefine some basic notions of virtue ethics in a more efficacious way compared to the opposing neo-Aristotelian model and that the strength of Hume’s version of virtue ethics is that he aims at the unity of character instead of the unity of the virtues. This makes it possible to develop a pluralistic and secularized morality that denies any supposed final cause or télos for human beings conceived as a species and instead upholds the individuality of the person as the fundamental value that should be pursued and promoted.
8 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors demonstrate that there are instructive parallels between Hebrew and Buddhist concepts of self, and compare these with the five main constituents (skandhas in Sanskrit) of the Hebrew self: (1) nepes as living being; (2) rūah as indwelling spirit; (3) lēb as heart-mind; (4) bǫr as flesh; and (5) dǫm as blood.
Abstract: Our task will be to demonstrate that there are instructive parallels between Hebrew and Buddhist concepts of self. There are at least five main constituents (skandhas in Sanskrit) of the Hebrew self: (1) nepes as living being; (2) rūah as indwelling spirit; (3) lēb as heart-mind; (4) bāśār as flesh; and (5) dām as blood. We will compare these with the five Buddhist skandhas: disposition (samskāra), consciousness (vijnāna), feeling (vedanā), perception (samjnā), and body (rūpa). Generally, what we will discover is that both Buddhists and Hebrews have a ‘bundle’ theory of the self; both see the body as an essential part of personal identity; both overcome the modernist distinction of the inner and the outer; and both avoid language about the will as a distinct faculty. In sum, both present us with a fully somatic and nondualistic view of being human.
7 citations
References
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01 Jan 2001
TL;DR: A companion to bioethics, A companion to Bioethics as mentioned in this paper, a companion to the bioethic, and a companion of the humanist movement in the 21st century.
Abstract: A companion to bioethics , A companion to bioethics , کتابخانه مرکزی دانشگاه علوم پزشکی تهران
271 citations
TL;DR: The authors argue that caring is a "threshold concept" by virtue of the "troublesome knowledge" with which students are confronted on meeting patients in practice, and suggest a number of ways in which students can be helped to move forward towards or through the threshold to a more cogent understanding of caring.
Abstract: This paper explores the ways in which student health professionals undergo a transformation in their sense of identity as they engage with caring discourses that underpin healthcare. I argue that caring is a ‘threshold concept’ by virtue of the ‘troublesome knowledge’ with which students are confronted on meeting patients in practice. When superimposed on commonsense understandings of caring, medical connotations of care and moral and ethical dilemmas challenge students to develop their own personal framework within which to operate. I suggest a number of ways in which students can be helped to move forward towards or through the threshold to a more cogent understanding of caring. Subsequent positioning in terms of caring discourses forms a facet of the students’ developing identities as healthcare professionals and therefore is a fundamental aspect of professional socialization.
169 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that in a complex socio-political world, social work ethics needs to re-cast the moral identity of the social worker in terms of virtue ethics, the acquired inner qualities of humans, the possession of which, if applied in due measure, will typically contribute to the realization of the good life or "eudaimonia".
Abstract: Summary This article argues that in a complex socio-political world, social work ethics needs to re-cast the moral identity of the social worker in terms of virtue ethics. We review virtue theory’s Aristotelian foundations and criticisms of Kantian and utilitarian theory and show how they apply to social work. Subsequently we offer an account of a virtuebased social work that questions the validity of several models of practice currently fashionable. Virtue theory emphasizes the priority of the individual moral agent who has acquired virtues commensurate with the pursuit of a revisable conception of the good life—the well-being of all in a defined community. The virtues are the acquired inner qualities of humans—character—the possession of which, if applied in due measure, will typically contribute to the realization of the good life or ‘eudaimonia’. The role of the virtuous social worker is shown to be one that necessitates appropriate application of intellectual and practical virtues such as justice, reflection, perception, judgement, bravery, prudence, liberality and temperance. This ‘self-flourishing’ worker,
159 citations
TL;DR: In this article, a quantitative analysis of authors, schools, themes, and publications of virtue ethics in business and management literature is presented, with a focus on the most prolific authors, most cited authors, the most cited articles, and journals with the most virtue ethics publications.
Abstract: Virtue ethics is generally recognized as one of the three major schools of ethics, but is often waylaid by utilitarianism and deontology in business and management literature. EBSCO and ABI databases were used to look for articles in the Journal of Citation Reports publications between 1980 and 2011 containing the keywords ‘virtue ethics’, ‘virtue theory’, or ‘virtuousness’ in the abstract and ‘business’ or ‘management’ in the text. The search was refined to draw lists of the most prolific authors, the most cited authors, the most cited articles, and the journals with the most virtue ethics publications. This information allows one to chart how virtue ethics articles have evolved through the decades and to establish ‘schools’ or clusters of authors as well as clusters of themes. The results of this quantitative analysis of authors, ‘schools’, themes, and publications provide a foundation for the future study of virtue ethics in business and management, identifying its achievements and potentials.
135 citations
TL;DR: In this article, the authors argue that the strategy of role-modeling, as explicated by the character education movement, is beset with three unsolved problems: an empirical problem of why this method is needed, a methodological problem of how students are to be inspired to emulate, and a substantive moral problem of what precisely should be taught.
Abstract: This article is about (1) the ancient (Aristotelian) emotional virtue of emulation, (2) some current character‐education inspired accounts of the use of role models in moral education and, most importantly, (3) the potential relevance of (1) for (2). The author argues that the strategy of role‐modelling, as explicated by the character‐education movement, is beset with three unsolved problems: an empirical problem of why this method is needed; a methodological problem of how students are to be inspired to emulation; and a substantive moral problem of what precisely should be taught. While the first of these three problems may perhaps be overlooked with impunity, the second and third problems stand in urgent need of rectification if role‐modelling is to retain its moral and educational import. After exploring Aristotle's notion of emulation, the author suggests that this rich and nuanced notion may hold the key to the solution of both problems. Such Aristotelian solutions are then spelled out and defended.
114 citations