The Journal of Ethics 7 (4):365-392 (2003)
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Abstract |
Several philosophers have recently claimed to have discovered a new and rather significant problem with virtue ethics. According to them, virtue ethics generates certain expectations about the behavior of human beings which are subject to empirical testing. But when the relevant experimental work is done in social psychology, the results fall remarkably short of meeting those expectations. So, these philosophers think, despite its recent success, virtue ethics has far less to offer to contemporary ethical theory than might have been initially thought. I argue that there are plausible ways in which virtue ethicists can resist arguments based on empirical work in social psychology. In the first three sections of the paper, I reconstruct the line of reasoning being used against virtue ethics by looking at the recent work of Gilbert Harman and John Doris. The remainder of the paper is then devoted both to responding to their challenge as well as to briefly sketching a positive account of character trait possession.
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Keywords | character traits Gilbert Harman John Doris situationism social psychology virtue ethics |
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Reprint years | 2004 |
DOI | 10.1023/A:1026136703565 |
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References found in this work BETA
Virtue Ethics and Situationist Personality Psychology.Maria Merritt - 2000 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 3 (4):365-383.
Toward a Cognitive Social Learning Reconceptualization of Personality.Walter Mischel - 1973 - Psychological Review 80 (4):252-283.
Traits of Character: A Conceptual Analysis.Richard B. Brandt - 1970 - American Philosophical Quarterly 7 (1):23 - 37.
View all 7 references / Add more references
Citations of this work BETA
Minor Tweaks, Major Payoffs: The Problems and Promise of Situationism in Moral Philosophy.Hagop Sarkissian - 2010 - Philosophers' Imprint 10.
Vicious Minds: Virtue Epistemology, Cognition, and Skepticism.Lauren Olin & John M. Doris - 2014 - Philosophical Studies 168 (3):665-692.
The Indeterminacy Paradox: Character Evaluations and Human Psychology.Peter B. M. Vranas - 2005 - Noûs 39 (1):1–42.
Freedom, Responsibility and the Challenge of Situationism.Dana K. Nelkin - 2005 - Midwest Studies in Philosophy 29 (1):181–206.
Moral Psychology: Empirical Approaches.John Doris & Stephen Stich - 2008 - Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
View all 66 citations / Add more citations
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