A Theory of Virtue: Excellence in Being for the Good
Clarendon Press (2006)
| Abstract | The distinguished philosopher Robert M. Adams presents a major work on virtue, which is once again a central topic in ethical thought. A Theory of Virtue is a systematic, comprehensive framework for thinking about the moral evaluation of character. Many recent attempts to stake out a place in moral philosophy for this concern define virtue in terms of its benefits for the virtuous person or for human society more generally. In Part One of this book Adams presents and defends a conception of virtue as intrinsic excellence of character, worth prizing for its own sake and not only for its benefits. In the other two parts he addresses two challenges to the ancient idea of excellence of character. One challenge arises from the importance of altruism in modern ethical thought, and the question of what altruism has to do with intrinsic excellence. Part Two argues that altruistic benevolence does indeed have a crucial place in excellence of character, but that moral virtue should also be expected to involve excellence in being for other goods besides the well-being (and the rights) of other persons. It explores relations among cultural goods, personal relationships, one's own good, and the good of others, as objects of excellent motives. The other challenge, the subject of Part Three of the book, is typified by doubts about the reality of moral virtue, arising from experiments and conclusions in social psychology. Adams explores in detail the prospects for an empirically realistic conception of excellence of character as an object of moral aspiration, endeavor, and education. He argues that such a conception will involve renunciation of the ancient thesis of the unity or mutual implication of all virtues, and acknowledgment of sufficient 'moral luck' in the development of any individual's character to make virtue very largely a gift, rather than an individual achievement, though nonetheless excellent and admirable for that. | |||||||||
| Keywords | No keywords specified (fix it) | |||||||||
| Categories | ||||||||||
| Buy the book | $46.96 new (22% off) $53.46 direct from Amazon (11% off) Amazon page | |||||||||
| ISBN(s) | 9780199207510 | |||||||||
| Options |
|
|||||||||
Download options| PhilPapers Archive |
Upload a copy of this paper Check publisher's policy on self-archival Papers currently archived: 5,705 |
| External links |
  Try with proxy. |
| Through your library | Configure |
Similar books and articlesJulia Driver (2001). Uneasy Virtue. Cambridge University Press.
J. Thomas Whetstone (2003). The Language of Managerial Excellence: Virtues as Understood and Applied. Journal of Business Ethics 44 (4):343 - 357.
Nancy Sherman (1989). The Fabric of Character: Aristotle's Theory of Virtue. Oxford University Press.
Rachana Kamtekar (2010). Comments on Robert Adams, a Theory of Virtue: Excellence in Being for the Good. Philosophical Studies 148 (1).
Michael W. Austin (2009). Magnanimity, Athletic Excellence, and Performance-Enhancing Drugs. Journal of Applied Philosophy 26 (1):46-53.
Kimberley Brownlee (2010). Moral Aspirations and Ideals. Utilitas 22 (3):241-257.
Maria Merritt (2000). Virtue Ethics and Situationist Personality Psychology. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 3 (4):365-383.
Jason Baehr (2006). Character, Reliability and Virtue Epistemology. Philosophical Quarterly 56 (223):193–212.
Robert Merrihew Adams (1999). Finite and Infinite Goods: A Framework for Ethics. Oxford University Press.
Daniel Putman (1995). The Primacy of Virtue in Children's Moral Development. Journal of Moral Education 24 (2):175-183.
Xianzhong Huang (2007). Justice as a Virtue: An Analysis of Aristotle's Virtue of Justice. Frontiers of Philosophy in China 2 (2):265-279.
Bill Shaw (1997). Sources of Virtue. Business Ethics Quarterly 7 (1):33-50.
Aaron Stalnaker (2010). Virtue as Mastery in Early Confucianism. Journal of Religious Ethics 38 (3):404-428.
Analytics
Monthly downloads |
Added to index2012-01-31Total downloads18 ( #67,593 of 549,128 )Recent downloads (6 months)2 ( #37,390 of 549,128 )How can I increase my downloads? |
My notes
Discussion
