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Introduction

Why Study Moral Virtue?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  11 January 2024

Blaine J. Fowers
Affiliation:
University of Miami
Bradford Cokelet
Affiliation:
University of Kansas
Nathan D. Leonhardt
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Summary

The introduction asks the question of why social scientists should study virtues empirically. It offers five reasons: (1) humans are moral animals, (2) moral behavior can be understood as an expression of acquired traits, (3) it is psychologically realistic to think that ordinary humans can acquire and express virtue traits, (4) moral education is valuable, and (5) virtues are often taken to be essential to a good life. The Introduction then addresses three challenges that virtue scientists must face: (1) the absence of empirically oriented virtue theory, (2) the overreliance of simple survey design in psychology, and (3) virtue skeptics. The Introduction concludes with an outline of the chapters of the book and how these chapters comprise the sections of the book.

Type
Chapter
Information
The Science of Virtue
A Framework for Research
, pp. 1 - 22
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2024

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