Abstract

Does Josiah Royce's defense of loyalty hold any relevance for us in the twenty-first century? Mathew A. Foust thinks that it does. Business ethics, the ethics of warfare, and moral interpretation of twenty-first-century fiction: these are the three areas where Foust applies a Roycean understanding of loyalty. While Foust offers a persuasive case for the relevance and viability of Royce's account of loyalty in the twenty-first century, my primary criticism of Foust's book concerns his acceptance of Royce's equation of duties and virtues. In what follows, I contextualize Royce's understanding of loyalty in relation to the political and social philosophy developed late in his writing career; I explain...