The Cambridge Companion to Virtue Ethics (Cambridge Companions to Philosophy)

Virtue ethics has emerged from a rich history, in which both Aristotle and Aquinas have played an important role, to become one of the fastest-growing fields in contemporary ethics. In this volume of newly commissioned essays, leading moral philosophers offer a comprehensive overview of virtue ethics. They examine the theoretical structure of virtue ethics and its place in contemporary moral theory and other topics discussed include the history of virtue-based approaches to ethics, what makes these approaches distinctive, what they can say about specific practical issues and where we can expect them to go in the future. This Companion will be useful to students of virtue ethics and the history of ethics and to others who want to understand how virtue ethics is changing the face of contemporary moral philosophy. The Cambridge Companion to Virtue Ethics 6 Contents 8 List of contributors 10 Acknowledgments 14 List of figures 15 Daniel C. Russell: Introduction: Virtue ethics in modern moral philosophy 16 An overview of this book 18 Virtue ethics: central concepts 18 Virtue ethics: its history and development 19 Virtue ethics in contemporary moral philosophy 20 Aims of this volume 21 1 Daniel C. Russell: Virtue ethics, happiness, and the good life 22 Eudaimonism about practical reasoning 23 Eudaimonism about happiness 26 Eudaimonism about the virtues 29 Can the final end be happiness? 34 Can happiness be the final end? 36 Botes 41 2 Rachana Kamtekar: Ancient virtue ethics: an overview with an emphasis on practical wisdom 44 Why wisdom? 44 Plato: from the art of measurement to the transformative object of contemplation 46 Wisdom and success 46 Wisdom as knowledge of the forms 47 Virtue and practical wisdom in Aristotle 49 Virtue, reason, and passion 50 Practical wisdom and deliberation 51 Aristotle’s differences with Plato 52 Is Aristotle relevant today? 54 Epicurean virtue and the knowledge of nature 55 Stoic wisdom 57 Virtue and knowledge 58 Virtue and indifference 60 Are the Stoics relevant today? 62 Conclusion 63 3 Philip J. Ivanhoe: Virtue ethics and the Chinese Confucian tradition 64 A genus and not a species 65 Virtue ethics and flourishing 65 Virtue ethics and sentiments 66 Mengzi 67 Human nature 68 Flourishing and ideals 68 Wang Yangming 71 Human nature 72 Connectedness with others 73 Self-cultivation and discovery 75 Flourishing and ideals 76 Drawing conclusions 76 Mengzi: flourishing and sociality 76 Mengzi: human nature 77 Wang: oneness with others 78 Wang: self-cultivation 79 Wang: the relevance of oneness 79 Notes 81 4 Jean Porter: Virtue ethics in the medieval period 85 Sources and early Christian antecedents 86 Christian thought in late antiquity 90 The medieval period 91 Abelard and Lombard 92 William of Auxerre 93 Bonaventure 94 Aquinas 95 Late medieval developments 101 Scotus 102 Notes 105 5 Paul Russell: Hume’s anatomy of virtue 107 Passion, character, and the mechanics of virtue 108 The varieties and vagaries of virtue 112 Virtue, voluntariness, and the natural abilities 120 Moral sense, “moral beauty,” and moral development 123 Virtue, vice, and superstition: irreligion and practical morality 127 Notes 130 6 Dorothea Frede: The historic decline of virtue ethics 139 Introduction: after virtue? 139 Aristotle’s virtue ethics 141 Aristotle’s virtue ethics in the Middle Ages 144 Aristotle and Christian spirituality 145 The rejection of Aristotle 148 Pessimism, politics, and ethics 150 New bases of morality 152 The misfortunes of virtue 154 The rise of rules 154 The rise of duty 155 Schneewind’s critique 157 Notes 160 7 Timothy Chappell: Virtue ethics in the twentieth century 164 Virtue ethics in the twentieth century: where did it come from? 164 A palace coup: Foot and Anscombe 169 Elizabeth Anscombe 170 Philippa Foot 173 Developments after Foot and Anscombe 175 Thick concepts 175 Alasdair MacIntyre 177 Bernard Williams 178 Where to from here? 181 Notes 185 8 Liezl van Zyl: Virtue ethics and right action 187 A qualified-agent account 189 Agent-based virtue ethics 196 A target-centered account 202 Conclusion 207 Notes 209 9 Justin Oakley: Virtue ethics and bioethics 212 Euthanasia 214 Health-care practice 217 Abortion 223 Prebirth testing 226 Future directions for virtue ethical approaches to bioethics 229 Notes 232 10 Matt Zwolinski & David Schmidtz: Environmental virtue ethics: what it is and what it needs to be 236 Act and character, principle, and rule 236 Repugnant conclusions: a fundamental challenge for environmental ethics 239 The Repugnant Conclusion 240 Generalizing: a problem for utilitarianism 242 Generalizing further: a problem for all act-centered theories 243 Is there another way of doing moral theory? 245 Note on contributing to overpopulation 248 Intuition and theory 249 Summary 250 Notes 251 11 Edwin Hartman: The virtue approach to business ethics 255 An economic view of ethics 256 Business ethics and utilitarianism 257 Homo economicus and interests 259 Rationality and integrity 261 Business virtues 263 A fact-based case 264 Corporate culture 267 MacIntyre’s critique: practices and institutions 269 External virtues and stakeholder relations 272 Experience and case studies 275 In conclusion 277 Notes 277 12 Mark Lebar: Virtue and politics 280 Political authority and its justification 281 Virtue ethical theories and justification of political order 282 Theories of virtue and politics 284 Slote 284 Nussbaum and Hursthouse 285 Rasmussen and Den Uyl 289 Virtue justifications for political authority 291 Vrtue and liberal justification 297 Notes 300 13 Gopal Sreenivasan: The situationist critique of virtue ethics 305 Philosophical situationism’s best data 308 What is the scope of a theory of virtue? 310 Which “character traits” are the right ones? 315 One-time performance experiments 318 Salvage options 322 Conclusion 325 Notes 326 14 Christine Swanton: The definition of virtue ethics 330 Concepts and conceptions of virtue ethics 334 Concept (1): eudaimonistic virtue ethics 335 Concept (2): virtue ethics as agent-centered 340 Concept (3): virtue ethics as centered on virtue notions 343 The favored concept of virtue ethics 348 Conclusion 351 Notes 352 Bibliography 354 Index 378 Virtue Ethics Has Emerged From A Rich History To Become One Of The Fastest-growing Fields In Contemporary Ethics. In This Volume Of Newly Commissioned Essays, Leading Moral Philosophers Offer A Comprehensive Overview Of Virtue Ethics. They Examine The Theoretical Structure Of Virtue Ethics And Its Place In Contemporary Moral Theory, As Well As The History Of Virtue-based Approaches To Ethics, What Makes These Approaches Distinctive, What They Can Say About Specific Practical Issues, And Where We Can Expect Them To Go In The Future. This Companion Will Be Useful To Students Of Virtue Ethics And The History Of Ethics, And To Others Who Want To Understand How Virtue Ethics Is Changing The Face Of Contemporary Moral Philosophy.--p. [4] Of Cover. Introduction: Virtue Ethics In Modern Moral Philosophy / Daniel C. Russell -- Virtue Ethics, Happiness, And The Good Life / Daniel C. Russell -- Ancient Virtue Ethics: An Overview With An Emphasis On Practical Wisdom / Rachana Kamtekar -- Virtue Ethics And The Chinese Confucian Tradition / Philip J. Ivanhoe -- Virtue Ethics In The Medieval Period / Jean Porter -- Hume's Anatomy Of Virtue / Paul Russell -- The Historic Decline Of Virtue Ethics / Dorothea Frede -- Virtue Ethics In The Twentieth Century / Timothy Chappell -- Virtue Ethics And The Right Action / Liezl Van Zyl -- Virtue Ethics And Bioethics / Justin Oakley -- Environmental Virtue Ethics: What It Is And What It Needs To Be / Matt Zwolinski And David Schmidtz -- The Virtue Approach To Business Ethics / Edwin Hartman -- Virtue And Poilitics / Mark Lebar -- The Situationalist Critique Of Virtue Ethics / Gopal Sreenivasan -- The Definition Of Virtue Ethics / Christine Swanton. Edited By Daniel C. Russell. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Virtue ethics has emerged from a rich history to become one of the fastest-growing fields in contemporary ethics. In this volume of newly commissioned essays, leading moral philosophers offer a comprehensive overview of virtue ethics. They examine the theoretical structure of virtue ethics and its place in contemporary moral theory, as well as the history of virtue-based approaches to ethics, what makes these approaches distinctive, what they can say about specific practical issues, and where we can expect them to go in the future. This Companion will be useful to students of virtue ethics and the history of ethics, and to others who want to understand how virtue ethics is changing the face of contemporary moral philosophy."--Page 4 of cover This volume offers a comprehensive overview of virtue ethics, the implications for specific practical issues and where we can expect virtue ethics to go in the future. Useful for students of virtue ethics and the history of ethics, to understand the changing face of contemporary moral philosophy.