Philosophia 37 (1):91-104 (2009)
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Abstract |
In this paper I argue that the disagreement between modern moral philosophers and (some) virtue ethicists about whether motive affects rightness is a result of conceptual disagreement, and that when they develop a theory of ‘right action,’ the two parties respond to two very different questions. Whereas virtue ethicists tend to use ‘right’ as interchangeable with ‘good’ or ‘virtuous’ and as implying moral praise, modern moral philosophers use it as roughly equivalent to ‘in accordance with moral obligation.’ One implication of this is that the possibility of an act being right by accident does not pose a problem for consequentialism or deontology. A further implication is that it reveals a shortcoming in virtue ethics, namely that it does not—yet needs to—present an account of moral obligation.
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Keywords | Accidental rightness Good (praiseworthy or virtuous) action Justice Right action Moral obligation Virtue ethics |
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Reprint years | 2008, 2009 |
ISBN(s) | |
DOI | 10.1007/s11406-008-9136-6 |
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Right Action as Virtuous Action.Nicholas Ryan Smith - 2018 - Australasian Journal of Philosophy 96 (2):241-254.
A Critique of the Right Intention Condition as an Element of Jus Ad Bellum.Greg Janzen - 2016 - Journal of Military Ethics 15 (1):36-57.
A New Form of Agent-Based Virtue Ethics.Daniel Doviak - 2011 - Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 14 (3):259-272.
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