Virtue Ethics and Literary Imagination (original) (raw)
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The Moral Impact of Literature as an Aristo-Platonic Legacy
Morality has always played a significant role in the literary studies. It is in fact a legacy from the eminent Greek philosophers Plato and Aristotle in the approaches to literature. Relying on the possible destructive impact of the poetic (literary) content on its audience (readers), Plato came to the conclusion that the poets (or those who deal with fictional issues) should be banished from an ideal society. In other words, according to Plato, reading fiction, or engaging with the fictional characters, events and situations, influences readers’ behaviour negatively. Beginning from his student Aristotle, his interpretation has continuously been evaluated and (re)interpreted by both his proponents and opponents. On the one hand, some critics have tried to prove the point that the morality represented in literature is unique to the fictional or imaginary world and should not be taken as similar with the kind of morality human being are living with. On the other hand, some others have argued that literature can be a source of both positive and negative moral values or it can contribute (either positively or negatively) to the readers’ moral values. The present essay examines some recent critical perspectives which, following Aristotle, favour the positive impact of literature on human (moral) behaviour.
Literary Fiction and the Cultivation of Virtue
Croatian Journal of Philosophy, 2019
Many philosophers have claimed that reading literary fiction makes people more virtuous. This essay begins by defending the view that this claim is empirical. It goes on to review the empirical literature and finds that this literature supports the claim philosophers have made. Three mechanisms are identified whereby reading literary fiction makes people more virtuous: empathy is increased when readers enter imaginatively into the lives of fictional characters; reading literary fiction promotes self-reflection; and readers mimic the prosocial behaviour of fictional characters. The paper concludes with a caution: there is a danger that readers could mimic antisocial behaviour displayed in literary fiction. If they do, reading some literary fiction could make readers less virtuous.
The Elements of 'Virtue‘ in The Iliad
International Journal of Languages, Literature and Linguistics, 2019
The Iliad is an epic poem of Homer narrates The War of Troy between Trojans and Achaeans which takes place in ancient history and it is full of heroic stories. The Trojan War is caused by the betrayal of Helen and Paris and the war is concluded with the death of Hector and the collapse of Troy. In Homeric society, wars and being a great warrior occupy a significant place in their lives since great warriors are believed as virtuous existences. That's why, Homer tells the great stories of great warriors. Alongside heroic stories, Homer also indicates a path to be virtuous through Achilles' rage, dishonesty of Helen and voluptuous behaviours of Paris. He underlines these elevated elements and gives lessons from each of them to his society to praise 'virtue'. However, it oversteps its time and place and it is able to survive until the modern world thanks to its moral messages which are still valid. In this paper, Homer's lessons through these elevated elements related to 'virtue' are going to be studied and depicted with exemplifications from the poem.
Virtue Theory According to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics
In Search of Moral Equilibrium & Wisdom, 2021
This chapter will review Greek contributions in moral philosophies, with particular attention given to Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics. Socrates and Plato, along with their collective intellectual influence will be highlighted. The meaning of virtue and the differentiation between intellectual virtues and moral virtues, including their dialectic relationship in the development and refinement of character are discussed extensively and placed within the microcosmic context of Athens' intellectual rebirth. Related objections and issues are delineated and assessed within the broader context of debates on virtue morality in the ancient, modern, and contemporary eras of philosophy. Learning Outcomes 1. Situate Virtue Ethics within the character-based paradigm of moral philosophies. 2. Examine the inherent dialectic relationship between action and the development of character. 3. Identify the contributions of Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle to Greek Virtue Ethics. 4. Delineate the difference between intellectual virtues and moral virtues. 5. Describe and describe Aristotle's phronesis in bridging the gap between intellectual virtues and moral virtues.
A Companion to World Literature
Aristotle, though not the first Greek virtue ethicist, was the first to establish virtue ethics as a distinct philosophical discipline. His exposition of the subject in his Nicomachean Ethics set the terms of subsequent debate in the European and Arabic traditions by proposing a set of plausible assumptions from which virtue ethics should proceed. His conception of human well-being and virtue as well as his brand of ethical naturalism were influential from antiquity through the Middle Ages and continue to be influential today. DOWNLOAD: https://people.ucsc.edu/\~jbowin/virtue.pdf