The Ethical Detective: Moral Philosophy and Detective Fiction

(Paperback)

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Description

Detective fiction and philosophymoral philosophy in particularmay seem like an odd combination. Working within the framework offered by neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics, this book makes the case that moral philosophers ought to take murder mysteries seriously, seeing them as a source of ethical insight, and as a tool that can be used to spark the ethical imagination. Detective fiction is a literary genre that asks readers to consider questions of good and evil, justice and injustice, virtue and vice, and is, consequently, a profoundly and inescapably ethical genre. Moreover, in the figure of the detective, readers are presented with an accessible role model who demonstrates the virtues of honesty, courage, and a commitment to justice that are required by those who want to live well as a virtue ethicist would understand it. This book also offers a critique of contemporary moral philosophy, and considers what features a neo-Aristotelian conception of autonomy might display.

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The Ethical Detective: Moral Philosophy and Detective Fiction, does a stellar job of not only making the often- complex facets of the discipline accessible to a wide readership but also showing how this ancient discipline can offer critics of popular culture valuable new avenues for their own analytical writing and teaching. . . . For philosophical neophytes, Haliburtons book is the perfect introduction, marrying a keen interest in detective fiction with a thoughtful and accessible writing style that demystifies contemporary ethics and shows how moral philosophy can be, as she writes in her conclusion, made to matter in the everyday.

Author Bio

Rachel Haliburton is associate professor of philosophy at the University of Sudbury.