Character, Virtue Theories, and the Vices

Download or read book Character, Virtue Theories, and the Vices written by Christine McKinnon and published by Broadview Press. This book was released on 1999-08-26 with total page 276 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book argues that the question posed by virtue theories, namely, “what kind of person should I be?” provides a more promising approach to moral questions than do either deontological or consequentialist moral theories where the concern is with what actions are morally required or permissible. It does so both by arguing that there are firmer theoretical foundations for virtue theories, and by persuasively suggesting the superiority of virtue theories over deontological and consquentialist theories on the question of explaining morally bad behavior. Virtue theories can give a richer account by appealing to the kinds of dispositions that make certain bad choices appear attractive. This richer account also exposes a further advantage of virtue theories: they provide the best kinds of motivations for agents to become better persons.