Inner Virtue

by Nicolas Bommarito

What does it mean to be a morally good person? It can be tempting to think that it is simply a matter of performing certain actions and avoiding others. And yet, there is much more to moral character than our outward actions. We expect a good person to not only behave in certain ways, but also to experience the world in certain ways within. Pleasure, emotion, and attention are important parts of our moral character despite being involuntary inner states. Inner Virtue defends a theory of why and how such states are relevant to moral These states say something about what kind of person one is by manifesting our deepest cares and concerns.

Genres: Philosophy

205 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 1, 2017

About the author

Nicolas Bommarito is assistant professor in philosophy at the University at Buffalo in New York.

Reviews

[X-Krow]

Won't score this because of my bias towards Professor Bommarito.

I read this as part of Professor Bommarito's course on moral psychology. It blended well with the other selections. His style definitely improved in his later work, but this was still an incredibly easy read for what it is (a philosophy dissertation). The ideas presented give a lot of food for thought. It was surprising when Professor Bommarito pointed out the lack of work in this area and how little inner emotions are seen as areas where more work can be done. We are definitely an action driven society, but all our greatest literature dives into characters' minds. Our films try their best to portray the inner lives of characters through their own tricks. So why is this a controversial thing? Weird. I enjoyed the final message. Yes, it may be simple: don't assume the inner lives of others. But it is effective and needed, especially in a day and age where we are more and more connected to people across the world. Parasocial relationships do not privy us to the minds of others, and we should be careful not to assume reasons behind others' actions

[Bruce Grossman · Rating 3 out of 5]

Has a cover like a Buddhist book, but really Western Analytic quibbling-- but not bad quibbling. Unproven premise is that morality is all about caring for others-- but does mention Aristotle's morality of individual flourishing-- nothing on the immensely popular Ayn Rand. But very readable, "makes you think". improves your vocabulary. Compare this book to Paul Bloom's "Against Empathy". which I liked better, which is more about rationally willing "the right thing" than trusting
inner virtue. Especially, living in Cleveland, America's most distressed city, I find loving my neighbor more about will than inclination and how I feel (your got to watch your back here!).