Being and becoming good on the diversity of human goodness and virtue Anne Jeffrey

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Jeffrey, Anne, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Aristotle.

Ethics.

Virtues.

ethics (philosophy).

Physical Description:

1 online resource

Place of Publication:

Oxford University Press, 2026.

Oxford Oxford University Press [2026]

Summary:

Aristotelian Naturalism is an ethics on which moral goodness is a species of natural goodness-the kind of goodness we find on display creatures whose habits and activities enable them to thrive. What it takes for humans to be good is to have habits and engage in activities that contribute to human flourishing. The primary aim of this book is to present a revisionist version of Aristotelian Naturalism enriched by empirical evidence and responsive to criticisms from feminist and disability ethics

Contents:

Cover

Half Title

Title Page

Copyright Page

Dedication

Contents

Acknowledgments

Introduction

I.1 Revisionary Aristotelianism

I.2 Becoming Good

I.3 Synopsis of Chapters

I.3.1 The Structure of AN

I.3.2 Methodology for Ethics

I.3.3 More Relative Goodness

I.3.4 More Human Goodness

I.3.5 Aristotelian Virtue Pluralism

I.3.6 Underrepresented Virtues

I.3.7 Becoming Good

1 The Structure of Aristotelian Naturalism

1.1 Introduction

1.2 Perfectionism

1.2.1 Perfectionism About the Good Human Life

1.2.2 Whose Capacities and Which Capacities to Promote

1.3 Eudaimonism

1.3.1 Eudaimonism and Perfectionism

1.3.2 Eudaimonism and Background Conditions

1.3.3 Egoist and Ecstatic Eudaimonism

1.3.4 Diachronic Evaluation and Eudaimonism

1.4 A Goodness-First Approach

1.4.1 Reasons-First Versus Value-First

1.4.2 Aristotelian Goodness-First Approach

1.5 Virtue-Centrism

1.5.1 Virtue-First

1.5.2 Virtues and Goodness

1.5.3 Virtues in a Flourishing Life

1.6 Naturalism

1.6.1 Twentieth-Century Naturalism and Nonnaturalism

1.6.2 The Continuity Claim and AN

1.6.3 Residual Questions

1.7 Empirical Sensitivity

1.7.1 Aristotelian Disenchantment with Science

1.7.2 Science-Sympathetic AN

1.8 Conclusion

2 Aristotelian Methods of Ethics

2.1 Introduction

2.2 Aristotle on Inquiry: Four Readings

2.2.1 How Aristotelian Should We Be?

2.2.2 Aristotle on Inquiry and Science

2.2.3 Inference to the Best Explanation

2.2.4 Coherentist Intuitionism

2.2.5 Rationalism

2.2.6 Foundationalist Empiricism

2.3 A Recent Alternative: The Erotetic-Framework Reading

2.3.1 What Is the Erotetic Framework?

2.3.2 Evidence for the Erotetic-Framework Interpretation

2.3.3 An Ecumenical Interpretation

2.3.4 Nonevaluative and Evaluative Starting Points

2.3.5 Integrating Empirical Evidence in Aristotelian Ethics

2.3.6 Empirical Sensitivity

2.4 The "Natural" in Aristotelian Naturalism

2.5 First-Nature Naturalism

2.5.1 The Pollyanna Problem

2.5.2 Sea Change Response

2.5.3 Second-Nature Naturalism

2.5.4 Toward a Via Media

2.5.5 The Erotetic Framework and the False Dichotomy

2.6 A Lesson from Conservation Biology

2.6.1 Conservation Science

2.6.2 Marine Conservation Biology

2.7 Conclusion

3 More Relative Goodness

3.1 Introduction

3.2 Mundane Evaluative Thought and Judgment

3.2.1 Mundane Evaluative Thought as a Motivation for Mere Relative Goodness

3.2.2 Within-Species Variation

3.3 Relative Goodness and Evidence from Developmental Biology

3.3.1 Origins of Developmental Biology

3.3.2 The Significance of Phase of Life for Flourishing Norms

3.4 Phase-Relative Goodness

3.4.1 Standards Relative to Phase of Life

3.4.2 Against Subsumption and Universalization

3.4.3 Phases Are Not Fundamental

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index

Online resource and publisher information; title from PDF title page (viewed on March 5, 2026)

Other Format:

Print version:

Print version Jeffrey, Anne. Being and becoming good

ISBN:

9780198901846

0198901844

9780198901822

0198901828

9780198901839

0198901836

OCLC:

1577217879

Publisher Number:

CIPO000362448

Access Restriction:

Restricted for use by site license