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The Virtues


The Virtues of Self-Help


Philip Cafaro asks what virtues are prized today, and why, and finds inspiration in a place few philosophers look.


The resurgence of ‘virtue ethics’ in the past twenty years has been tied to a number of
different philosophical projects. In my opinion, its most important achievement has been to reopen Aristotle’s
central ethical questions – What are human excellence and flourishing? How can we achieve them? – as
major questions in philosophical ethics. In doing so, virtue ethics has reclaimed this neglected half
of our ethical lives for intelligent consideration.
 

In 1993 the philosopher Julia Annas perceptively remarked that in our time – as opposed to Greek
and Roman times – those interested in questions concerning personal development or the pursuit
of happiness are more likely to consult the popular ‘self-help’ literature than works of
philosophical ethics. Other writers on virtue ethics, such as Rosalind Hursthouse (1999), have noted
in a line or two the overlapping concerns of ancient ethical philosophy and modern self-help books.


…