Virtue, Narrative, and Self Virtue, Narrative, and Self connects two philosophical areas of study that have long been treated as distinct: virtue theory and narrative accounts of personal identity. Chapters address several important issues and neglected themes at the intersection of these research areas. Specific examples include the role of narrative in the identification, differentiation, and cultivation of virtue, the nature of practical reasoning and moral competence, and the influence of life’s narrative structure on our conceptions of what it means to live and act well. This volume demonstrates how recent work from the philosophy of mind and action concerning narrativity and our understanding of the self can shed new light on questions about the nature of virtue, practical wisdom, and human flourishing. This book will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in virtue theory, moral philosophy, philosophy of mind and action, and moral education. Joseph Ulatowski is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Director of the Experimental Philosophy Research Group at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. He is the author of Why Facts Matter: Facts and Pluralism in the Age of Fake News (forthcoming) and Commonsense Pluralism about Truth: An Empirical Defence (Palgrave, 2017). Liezl van Zyl is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. She is the author of Virtue Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge, 2018) and Death and Compassion: A Virtue- based Approach to Euthanasia (Routledge, 2000). Routledge Studies in Ethics and Moral Theory An Intersectional Feminist Theory of Moral Responsibility Michelle Ciurria The Principle of Double Effect A History and Philosophical Defense David Černý Apologies and Moral Repair Rights, Duties, and Corrective Justice Andrew I. Cohen Kantian and Sidgwickian Ethics The Cosmos of Duty Above and the Moral Law Within Edited by Tyler Paytas and Tim Henning Cultivating Our Passionate Attachments Matthew J. Dennis Reason and Ethics The Case Against Objective Value Joel Marks Offense and Offensiveness A Philosophical Account Andrew Sneddon Virtue, Narrative, and Self Explorations of Character in the Philosophy of Mind and Action Edited by Joseph Ulatowski and Liezl van Zyl For more information about this series, please visit: www.routledge.com/ Routledge-Studies-in-Ethics-and-Moral-Theory/book-series/SE0423 Virtue, Narrative, and Self Explorations of Character in the Philosophy of Mind and Action Edited by Joseph Ulatowski and Liezl van Zyl F irst published 2021 b y Routledge 5 2 Vanderbilt Avenue, New York, NY 10017 a nd by Routledge 2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN R outledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business © 2021 Taylor & Francis T he right of Joseph Ulatowski and Liezl van Zyl 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. A ll 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 A catalog record for this book has been requested ISBN: 978-0-367-41820-5 (hbk) ISBN: 978-0-367-82330-6 (ebk) Typeset in Sabon by Apex CoVantage, LLC For Ron Flood Contents Acknowledgements ix 1 Virtue, Narrative, and Self: An Introduction 1 JOSEPH ULATOWSKI AND LIEZL VAN ZYL 2 Virtue Ethics and Narrative Virtue 19 CHRISTINE SWANTON 3 Narrative Virtues and Second-Order Reasons 35 GARRETT CULLITY 4 Narrative Virtue Ethics? 54 RAMON DAS 5 How Self-Narratives and Virtues Cause Actions 69 DAVID LUMSDEN AND JOSEPH ULATOWSKI 6 Virtue Ethics, Narrative, and Revisionary Accounts of Rightness 91 JASON KAWALL 7 Virtuous Perception: A Gibsonian Approach 117 RICHARD PAUL HAMILTON 8 Virtue Ethics, Blameworthiness, and Role Failure 140 JUSTIN OAKLEY 9 Well-Being, Narrative Value, and Virtue Ethics 151 NICHOLAS RYAN SMITH viii Contents 10 On the Value of Moral Failure 170 DAMIAN COX 11 Who Wrote Nietzsche’s Autobiography? 185 ELIJAH MILLGRAM 12 The Abnegated Self 214 NELLIE WIELAND 13 Integrity and Messy Lives 230 TIM DARE List of Contributors 246 Index 251 Acknowledgements We are grateful for the financial support we received from the Univer- sity of Waikato’s Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences Dean’s Office to host a conference in 2017 on “Virtue, Narrative, and Agency.” The work that appears here is a consequence of conversations and discussions that arose during and after that conference. We would like to acknowledge the generous support of Allison Kirkman, the Dean’s Office staff, and the Philosophy Programme’s administrative assistant Paula Maynard. We also want to thank the University of Connecticut Humanities Institute. Much of the work associated with the volume’s assembly would not have been possible without the generous support Joseph received as a Visiting Faculty Research Fellow at the Institute. We also greatly appreciate the editorial team at Routledge, especially Andrew Weckenmann and Allie Simmons, who deserve special recogni- tion for their unwavering support for this project and helping see to its completion during a global pandemic that has manifested in some selves the most virtuous conduct but in others the most vicious and callous behaviour. Finally, Liezl would like to thank her family, Paul, John, Alex, and Tessa, for their love and kindness and occasional technical support. Joseph is grateful to his family, Tiffany, Lucjan, and Anja, who were an immutable source of love, encouragement, and inspiration while he was drafting, revising, and finishing his contribution to this volume. Without them, no narrative merits to be told and no virtuous character worthy of cultivation.