Self, Motivation, and Virtue These chapters summarize the research findings from the incredibly successful Self, Motivation, and Virtue Project. The book is must reading for anyone working in the areas of character and moral psychology. — Christian B. Miller, A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy, Wake Forest University , USA This volume features new findings by nine interdisciplinary teams of researchers on the topics of self, motivation, and virtue. Nine chapters bringing together scholars from the fields of philosophy, psychology, neuroscience, and sociology advance our substantive understanding of these important topics and showcase a variety of research methods of interdisciplinary interest. Essays on Buddhism and the self in the context of romantic relationships, the development of personal projects and virtue, the notion of self-distancing and its moral impact, virtues as self-integrated traits, humility and the self in loving encounter, the importance of nation and faith in motivating virtue in Western and non-Western countries, roles for the self and virtue in eudaimonic growth, overcoming spiritual violence and sacramental shame in Christian communities, and an investigation into the moral self highlight the range and diversity of topics explored in this volume. The concept of deep integration also characterizes this work: each member of the interdisciplinary teams was fully and equally invested in their project from inception to completion. This approach invites teams to examine their disciplinary assumptions, rethink familiar concepts, and adjust methodologies in order to view their topics with fresh eyes. The result is not only new findings of substantive and methodological interest, but also an interesting glimpse into the thinking of the researchers as they sought interdisciplinary common ground in their research. Self, Motivation, and Virtue will be of interest to scholars in philosophy, moral psychology, neuroscience, and sociology who are working on these topics. Nancy E. Snow is Professor of Philosophy and Director of the Institute for the Study of Human Flourishing at the University of Oklahoma. She is the author of Virtue as Social Intelligence: An Empirically Grounded Theory, and more than 45 papers on ethics. She has edited T he Oxford Handbook of Virtue . Darcia Narvaez is Professor of Psychology at the University of Notre Dame. One of her recent books, Neurobiology and the Development of Human Morality: Evolution, Culture, and Wisdom won the 2015 William James Book Award from the American Psychological Association and the 2017 Expanded Reason Award. Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory Philosophical Perspectives on Empathy Theoretical Approaches and Emerging Challenges Edited by Derek Matravers and Anik Waldow Putting Others First The Christian Ideal of Others-Centeredness T. Ryan Byerly Methodology and Moral Philosophy Edited by Jussi Suikkanen and Antti Kauppinen Self-Transcendence and Virtue Perspectives from Philosophy, Psychology, and Technology Edited by Jennifer A. Frey and Candace Vogler Moral Rights and Their Grounds David Alm Ethics in the Wake of Wittgenstein Edited by Benjamin De Mesel and Oskari Kuusela Perspectives in Role Ethics Virtues, Reasons, and Obligation Edited by Tim Dare and Christine Swanton Self, Motivation, and Virtue Innovative Interdisciplinary Research Edited by Nancy E. Snow and Darcia Narvaez For more information about this series, please visit: www. routledge.com/Routledge-Studies-in-Ethics-and-Moral-Theory/ book-series/SE0423 Self, Motivation, and Virtue Innovative Interdisciplinary Research Edited by Nancy E. Snow and Darcia Narvaez First published 2020 by Routledge 52 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 and by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon OX14 4RN Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2020 Taylor & Francis The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. Trademark notice : Product or corporate names may be trademarks or registered trademarks, and are used only for identification and explanation without intent to infringe. Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data Names: Narvaez, Darcia, editor. | Snow, Nancy E., editor. Title: Self, motivation, and virtue : innovative interdisciplinary research / edited by Nancy E. Snow and Darcia Narvaez. Description: New York : Routledge, 2019. | Series: Routledge studies in ethics and moral theory; 56 | Includes bibliographical references and index. Identifiers: LCCN 2019031983 (print) | LCCN 2019031984 (ebook) | ISBN 9780367203177 (hbk) | ISBN 9780429260858 (ebk) Subjects: LCSH: Self (Philosophy) | Motivation (Psychology) | Virtue. Classification: LCC BD438.5 .S443 2019 (print) | LCC BD438.5 (ebook) | DDC 126—dc23 LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019031983 LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2019031984 ISBN: 978-0-367-20317-7 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-429-26085-8 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC Contents List of Figures and Table vii Preface ix Acknowledgments xi Introduction 1 NANCY E. SNOW AND DARCIA NARVAEZ 1 Self, Motivation, and Virtue, or How We Learned to Stop Worrying and Love Deep Integration 7 MOIN SYED, COLIN G. DEYOUNG, AND VALERIE TIBERIUS 2 Expansive Interdisciplinarity and the Moral Self 25 JAVIER GOMEZ-LAVIN, JESSE PRINZ, NINA STROHMINGER, AND SHAUN NICHOLS 3 The Virtues of Interdisciplinary Research: Psychological and Philosophical Inquiry Into Self, Motivation, and Virtue 43 BLAINE J. FOWERS AND BRADFORD COKELET 4 Virtue and Self-Distancing 63 WARREN HEROLD, WALTER SOWDEN, AND ETHAN KROSS 5 Admiring Moral Exemplars: Sketch of an Ethical Sub-Discipline 85 ROBERT ROBERTS AND MICHAEL SPEZIO 6 Achieving Deep Integration Across Disciplines: A Process Lens on Investigating Human Flourishing 109 CHRISTINE D. WILSON-MENDENHALL, JOHN DUNNE, AND PAUL CONDON vi Contents 7 Toward an Integrated Psychology and Philosophy of Good Life Stories 127 JACK J. BAUER AND PEGGY DESAUTELS 8 Reflections on Our Sociological-Philosophical Study of the Self, Motivation, and Virtue Among LGBTI Conservative Christians and Their Allies 147 THERESA W. TOBIN AND DAWNE MOON 9 Integrating “Cultures of Reasoning”: Interdisciplinary Research on Motivating the Self to Wisdom and Virtue 167 RICCA EDMONDSON, MICHEL FERRARI, MONIKA ARDELT, AND HYEYOUNG BANG List of Contributors 193 Index 203 Figures and Table Figures 2.1 Averaged Similarity Map of Musical Genres Generated From Ratings of Our 46 German Participants Produced with the PROXSCAL Algorithm 33 3.1 Common Content for Interdisciplinary Research on Virtue and Eudaimonia 44 Table 3.1 Virtues and Vices of Interdisciplinary Research 49 Preface The essays in this volume recount the findings and experiences of nine research teams whose work was funded by the “Self, Motiva- tion, and Virtue Project” (hereafter SMV Project), which was, in turn, funded by the Templeton Religion Trust.1 The project, which began on September 1, 2014, and ended on March 31, 2018, was co-directed by Nancy E. Snow and Darcia Narvaez. It had three aims: The first aim is to encourage investigations of the self as the possessor of personality, motivation, and virtue, including views on the development of the moral self. The second aim is to stimulate methodological innovation that incorporates multi- ple disciplinary perspectives and goes beyond paper-and-pencil measures. Meeting this aim requires that research teams move beyond traditional psychological measures, and that they meet the criterion of “deep integration” by generally being com- prised of at least one scientist and one humanities scholar with full and equal investment in specific projects from inception to completion. Ideally, research teams include members from dif- fering scientific traditions. ( http://smvproject.com/about/overview/ ) The project sought to encourage researchers to depart from the personality framework traditionally used by personality psycholo- gists to study traits and to focus more directly on an alternative perspective—that in which the self is taken to be the possessor of traits and virtues. Not only did we think this would open up a new avenue for research on traits and virtues, but we also thought it could be more amenable to studying the development of virtues than the personality framework.