Character and moral psychology / Christian B. Miller.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Miller, Christian B., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Character.

Virtue.

Physical Description:

xiv, 269 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Oxford ; New York : Oxford University Press, 2014.

Summary:

Philsophers and psychologists have been hard at work trying to unlock the mysteries of our characters. Unfortunately, their answers have been all over the map. According to one position, every single person has all of the moral virtues, such as modesty and compassion, although to varying degrees. Yet according to another position, no one has any character traits at all since they are simply illusions and do not exist. Hence not one person is honest or compassionate or courageous. And between these extremes, there are plenty of intermediate views. Christian B. Miller argues that not one of these leading positions accurately reflects what most of us are like today. He explores the implications of the Mixed Trait framework-a theory of moral character developed in his previous book, Moral Character: An Empirical Theory. Mixed trails have both morally positive aspects (hence they are not vices) along with morally negative aspects (hence they are not virtues). Miller engages with the other leading positions on the empirical nature of character: situationism, the CAPS model, the Big Five model, and the local trait model. He goes on to apply the Mixed Trait framework to several important topics in ethics, especially the development of an error theory about judgments of character and the challenge faced by virtue ethics from the widespread lack of virtue. Book jacket.

Contents:

Part I The Mixed Trait Framework

1 The Conceptual Background 3

2 The Framework of Mixed Traits 37

3 Illustrating the Framework: Cheating 62

Part II Engaging Other Frameworks

4 Situationism 85

5 The CAPS Model 107

6 The Big Five 129

Part III Applying the Framework

7 Errors about Character? Some Implications for Meta-Ethics 153

8 Trouble for Virtue Ethics? Some Implications for Normative Ethics 187

Part IV The Next Step

9 Looking Forward 227.

ISBN:

9780199674367

0199674361

OCLC:

874030927