Against Moral Character Evaluations: the Undetectability of Virtue and Vice
نویسنده
چکیده
I defend the epistemic thesis that evaluations of people in terms of their moral character as good, bad, or intermediate are almost always epistemically unjustified. (1) Because most people are fragmented (they would behave deplorably in many and admirably in many other situations), one’s prior probability that any given person is fragmented should be high. (2) Because one’s information about specific people does not reliably distinguish those who are fragmented from those who are not, one’s posterior probability that any given person is fragmented should be close to one’s prior⎯and thus should also be high. (3) Because being fragmented entails being indeterminate (neither good nor bad nor intermediate), one’s posterior probability that any given person is indeterminate should also be high⎯and the epistemic thesis follows. (1) and (3) rely on previous work; here I support (2) by using a mathematical result together with empirical evidence from personality psychology.
منابع مشابه
Mulla Sadra on Virtue and Action
This paper sheds light on the views of Mulla Sadra about virtue and action. The main question is how he explains the relationship, if any, between virtue and action. Mulla Sadra defines moral virtue as a settled inner disposition by which one acts morally, without need for any reflection or deliberation. This study seeks to explain how, according to Mulla Sadra, a virtue motivates the agent and...
متن کاملEpistemic Virtue from the Viewpoints of Mulla Sadra and Zagzebski
This paper compares epistemic virtue from the viewpoints of Zagzebski and Mulla Sadra, aiming to determine the extent to which their viewpoints on epistemic virtue are similar. Zagzebski, the contemporary philosopher, considers epistemic virtue as the basis on which knowledge is interpreted. She sees epistemic virtue as a requirement for achieving knowledge. Mulla Sadra, the founder of Transcen...
متن کاملاخلاق فضیلت و تصمیمگیری اخلاقی در پزشکی
Virtue ethics is an agent-centered approach that is concerned with good and bad character rather than right or wrong action. It is based on the virtues and moral character of the agent. Morality of the physician is emphasized in medicine as well, which demonstrates its affinity with virtue ethics. Nevertheless, a theory of applied or medical ethics should provide a criterion for ethical decisio...
متن کاملCritical Virtue Ethics
Since the publication of Anscombe’s famous paper “Modern Moral Philosophy” (1958), virtue ethics has become a matter of discussion among scholars. At least four charges have been raised against virtue ethics, one of which is the charge of promoting undue enthusiasm regarding the moral fitness of human beings. This article explores the limits of virtue ethics with regard to the frailty of human ...
متن کاملStructures of Virtue and Vice
The paper argues for new concepts in theological ethics: structures of virtue and structures of vice. The Catholic tradition’s development of the ‘structures of sin’ in the 1970’s and 80’s was a significant contribution to magisterial teaching. However, this concept should be updated in light of the trajectory and concepts of post-Vatican II theological ethics. The article proceeds in two parts...
متن کامل