In this paper, I will account for the importance of the notion of exemplarity within the contemporary virtue-ethical debate, both in its classic formulation(e.g., Hursthouse 1999)and in the recent exemplarist moral theory advanced by Linda T. Zagzebski (2015; 2017). Despite their differences, which I will discuss extensively, both theories are centered on a characterization of an exemplary virtuous agent that serves as a standard for determining what, in a given situation, is right, wrong, dutiful and forbidden. The first two sections will be devoted to an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of these two approaches. In the third,I will propose a different role of radical (i.e.,exceptional) individuals, i.e., saints and heroes, within a virtue-ethical theory of right action.
The exemplary and the right. Contemporary virtue ethics, action guidance, and action assessment
Vaccarezza Maria Silvia
2023-01-01
Abstract
In this paper, I will account for the importance of the notion of exemplarity within the contemporary virtue-ethical debate, both in its classic formulation(e.g., Hursthouse 1999)and in the recent exemplarist moral theory advanced by Linda T. Zagzebski (2015; 2017). Despite their differences, which I will discuss extensively, both theories are centered on a characterization of an exemplary virtuous agent that serves as a standard for determining what, in a given situation, is right, wrong, dutiful and forbidden. The first two sections will be devoted to an assessment of the strengths and weaknesses of these two approaches. In the third,I will propose a different role of radical (i.e.,exceptional) individuals, i.e., saints and heroes, within a virtue-ethical theory of right action.
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