Table of Contents

Introduction
Action1: Right Action
2: Resolvable Dilemmas
3: Irresolvable and Tragic Dilemmas
Emotion and Motivation4: Aristotle and Kant
5: Virtue and the Emotions
6: The Virtuous Agent's Reasons for Action
7: Moral Motivation
Rationality8: The Virtues Benefit their Possessor
9: Naturalism
10: Naturalism for Rational Animals
11: Objectivity
Bibliography, Index

About the Author

Rosalind Hursthouse is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Auckland, New Zealand.

Reviews

`'This splendid new book by Rosalind Hursthouse describes a programme for the development of a particular ("Aristotelian") form of virtue ethics. It is intended to be used as a textbook, but should be read by anyone interested in moral philosophy. Hursthouse has been a major contributor to the development of virtue ethics, and the programme she describes, while making use of the many contributions of others, is very much her own, with numerous new ideas and
insights.''
Gilbert Harman, Times Literary Supplement
`'Incisive, clear, historically sensitive while addressing contemporary concerns, this book is the comprehensive statement modern virtue ethics has been awaiting for forty years.'

'
Roger Crisp, St Anne's College, Oxford
`'Rosalind Hursthouse's study of virtue ethics is an exceptionally clear and refreshing treatment of the subject. Fully informed and engaged with the best of contemporary moral philosophy, it breathes philosophical life into the conversation between virtue ethics and Kantian or utilitarian inspired alternatives. Hursthouse's uncommon insight into the texture of ethical life connects the claims of virtue theory with the ways most of us do think about
morality and, especially, with the moral tale we tell our children.'


'
Barbara Herman, University of California, Los Angeles
`'With this book virtue ethics finally comes of age. Hursthouse elegantly dispels the aura of unattractive high-mindedness that has clung to the approach. Firmly rebutting both psychological and moral criticisms, she shows how the life of the virtuous is both possible and even enjoyable. This volume will effortlessly take its place as the defining exposition of the view.'
'
Simon Blackburn, University of North Carolina