Virtue ethics is currently one of the most widely known ethical theories. According to it, to act morally well, one needs to perfect one’s moral character by acquiring virtues. Among various virtues, we can distinguish the group of so-called virtues of will power to which, among others, belong self-control, decisiveness, patience, etc. As they are necessary for the effectiveness of human actions, they are also called executive virtues. It is doubtful, however, if they deserve the proper name of virtues because (...) they can be used either in the realization of good goals or evil ones. To serve the realization of what is good, they need to be combined with so-called substantial virtues. Virtues of will power are often identified with practical skills, and perfecting will power is identified with exercising such practices as playing an instrument, doing some sports, or taking practice in medicine. In my article, I am trying to compare the view of will power virtues with the results in empirical, psychological studies over self-control and self-regulation. I will show to what extent these two descriptions – philosophical and psychological – are congruent. I will also take a closer look at the observed phenomenon of the depleted will, and whether this observation undermines the conclusions assumptions of virtue ethics. (shrink)

The article focuses on a currently hot debate in contemporary ethics that takes place between so-called situationists and the advocates of virtue ethics. The fundamental assumption made by virtue ethics is that developing and perfecting one’s moral character or moral virtues warrants one’s morally good action. Situationists claim that this assumption contradicts the results of the latest empirical studies. From this observation, they conclude that virtue ethics is based on an empirically inadequate moral psychology.In the first part of the article, (...) I present the conceptions of virtue and moral character developed in response to the situationist criticism. I show to which degree these conceptions differ from the classical, so-called global approach in virtue ethics In the second part, based on the references to the latest empirical studies in social and cognitive psychology, I argue, against the situationist objection, that the classical notion of virtue meets the requirement of empirical adequacy. I mainly resort to the interactionist theory of personality by W. Mischel, R. Baumeister’s studies over self-control, D. Kahneman's conception of two-processual mind, and the studies over automatized processes by J. Bargh. (shrink)

Compared to other approaches, it is virtue ethics that puts greatest emphasis on moral education. This results from its focus on moral agent and his or her moral condition as the main object of ethical enquiry. The aim of this paper is to outline the moral education within the framework of virtue ethics. I intend to explain how such education embraces the cognitive, affective, and behavioral elements. In the first part of the article, I present the concept of ethical virtue (...) to contrast it with certain misunderstandings which might lead to unnecessary fear of introducing the category of virtue into moral education. In the second part, I respond to various objections raised against virtue ethics, the most important being the objection of indoctrination and undermining autonomy of the educated. Another objection to which I pay special attention is the objection that there is no one catalogue of virtues but many different catalogues praised by different cultures, which especially poses a problem in multicultural societies. I am also trying to show the advantages of virtue education over other, nondirective approaches to moral education. (shrink)

Przedmiotem artykułu jest egzemplarystyczna teoria etyczna Lindy Zagzebski (2017). To nowa i ciekawa propozycja ufundowania teorii etycznej na emocji podziwu moralnego. W pierw­szej części prezentuję główne założenia egzemplaryzmu — wyjaśniam, kim są osobowe wzory moralne, jaką rolę w teorii Zagzebski odgrywa admiracja oraz na czym polega swoistość egzemp­laryzmu Lindy Zagzebski. W drugiej, krytycznej części wskazuję walory egzem­pla­rystycznej teo­rii etycznej. Powołuję się na liczne dane empiryczne potwierdzające wagę modelowania w moral­nej edukacji oraz funkcję pozytywnych emocji w doskonaleniu moralnym. Podkreślam ważny, praktyczny (...) wymiar teorii Lindy Zagzebski. W trzeciej części wskazuję na trudności egzempla­ryzmu, powiązane z przypisywaniem admiracji fundamentalnej roli w formułowaniu teo­rii etycz­nej, takie jak kłopoty z definiowaniem emocji podziwu, jej ambiwalentny charakter oraz wtór­ność admiracji wobec wartości jej przedmiotu. Nadto wykazuję, że teoria Lindy Zagzebski nie spełnia jednej z najważniejszych funkcji teorii etycznej, jaką jest rozwiązywanie problemów etycznych. (shrink)