The Pitfalls of Virtue Ethics

(Hardback)

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This book offers a unique look into virtue ethics, exploring why this tradition is in need of repair, renewal, and reformation.
Husain Sarkar examines which tenets of virtue ethics are indispensable and which ones are simply indefensible through uniquely different perspectives by bringing five cardinal objections namely, the self-defeating objection, the circularity objection, the moral relativism objection, the explanatory poverty objection, and the inconsistent advice objection to bear on a multiplicity of central tenets of virtue ethics. Husain Sarkar discusses theories of virtue ethics proposed by G.E.M. Anscombe, Philippa Foot, Julia Annas, and Rosalind Hursthouse, and their novel, intriguing answers to old, familiar questions, such as, What is a virtuous action Are there virtue rules What is the best explanation of a morally right action, and more. The central task of this book is to examine the vision and tradition that their works collectively create, unraveling why this tradition is in need of repair, renewal, and reformation.

Author Bio

Husain Sarkar is professor emeritus of philosophy at Louisiana State University, USA. His first book, A Theory of Method (1983), presented a new problem in philosophy of science called the problem of group rationality. His other books include The Toils of Understanding: An Essay on The Present Age (2000), Descartes Cogito: Saved from the Great Shipwreck (2003), Group Rationality in Scientific Research (2007) and Kant and Parfit: The Groundwork of Morals (2018).