The Cambridge Companion to Virtue Ethics

by Daniel C. Russell (Editor)

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.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, History

380 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[James Miller · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ever so good. I really enjoyed this one especially passages discussing the influence of virtue theory in Hume and Kant as this was new to me. The more I read the more I think virtue ethics is the answer: I don't like deontology, utilitarianism suffers from faults as best described by Rawls and SCT is predictaed on the wrong concepts of the good life.

I teach Philosophy in school and I find this fabulously useful.

[Gene Bales · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a volume of essays on the subject of virtue ethics. This is an area of ethics that has recently received considerable attention from philosophers--though it is ironically one of the oldest strands of ethical theorizing. The breadth of contributions was very pleasing--clearly cross-cultural and fairly comprehensive. Perhaps the most theoretically astute was the final essay in the book by Christine Swanton which attempted a rigorous analysis of virtue ethics. I will need to read it again for a better understanding, but it alone is worth the price of admission. A few essays did not especially excite me, especially the one on virtue ethics in business. But whatever weaknesses reside here, the topic is wonderful, and the range of essays and thinking are admirable.

[Billie Pritchett · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Cambridge Companion to Virtue Ethics is a good book of essays that'll tell you everything you want to know about virtue ethics. It not only focuses on Aristotle's version of virtue ethics, which is maybe the most popular, but also David Hume's and Confucius's. Virtue ethics is essentially the view that various dispositions to think and behave (called the Virtues) can help us live a better life. According to the view, if we live according to the Virtues we will be more likely to live well.

(If you're interested in reading more about the particulars of some of these views, you can read about them on my blog, si hoc legere scis... . Otherwise, you can read the book for yourself. It's a good one.)

[Paul Crider · Rating 5 out of 5]

The breadth of topics covered in this volume is impressive. The field of virtue ethics is much bigger than I thought before reading through this book.

[Elizabeth · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great introduction to the main themes of the Aristotelian, Humean, and modern revitalization of virtue ethics.