The Bright and the Good: The Connection between Intellectual and Moral Virtues

362 Pages·2018·4.22 MB·English

by  Audrey L. Anton (editor)

The Bright and the Good

The Bright and the Good
The Connection between
Intellectual and Moral Virtues
Edited by Audrey L. Anton
London • New York
Published by Rowman & Littlefield International Ltd.
Unit A, Whitacre Mews, 26-34 Stannary Street, London SE11 4AB
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Rowman & Littlefield International Ltd. is an affiliate of Rowman & Littlefield
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With additional offices in Boulder, New York, Toronto (Canada), and Plymouth (UK)
www.rowman.com
Selection and editorial matter © 2018 Audrey L. Anton
Copyright in individual chapters is held by the respective chapter authors.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any
electronic or mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems,
without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote
passages in a review.
British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data
A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
ISBN: HB 978-1-7866-0236-7
PB 978-1-7866-0237-4
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Names: Anton, Audrey L., editor.
Title: The bright and the good : the connection between intellectual and
moral virtues / edited by Audrey L. Anton.
Description: Lanham : Rowman & Littlefield Publishing Group, Inc., 2018. |
Includes bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2018006029 (print) | LCCN 2018014055 (ebook) | ISBN
9781786602381 (Electronic) | ISBN 9781786602367 (cloth : alk. paper) |
ISBN 9781786602374 (pbk. : alk. paper)
Subjects: LCSH: Virtues. | Intellect. | Virtue. | Virtue epistemology. |
Knowledge, Theory of.
Classification: LCC BJ1531 (ebook) | LCC BJ1531 .B75 2018 (print) | DDC
179/.9--dc23
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2018006029
The paper used in this publication meets the minimum requirements of
American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of Paper
for Printed Library Materials, ANSI/NISO Z39.48-1992.
Printed in the United States of America
In Honor of Mary Ellen Anton
(November 14, 1948–July 16, 2010)
The wisest woman I ever knew
Though she never put on airs
Her creativity inspired a few
Her pupils knew she cared
“Not everyone is clever, but all can be good!”
She proclaims from her heavenly portal
An exemplar of care and motherhood
An angel who walked among mortals

Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
Audrey L. Anton
PART I: A NCIENT ORIGINS OF THE
INTELLECTUAL-MORAL RELATIONSHIP
1 Geometry in the Humming of the Strings 3
Anne Mamary
2 What the Theoretical Sciences Can Teach Us About
Right Action: Plato and Intellectual Virtues 19
Eva María Cadavid
3 How Practical Wisdom Depends on Moral Excellence 33
Marcia Homiak
4 Practical Wisdom and Happiness as a Political Achievement
in Aristotle 49
C. D. C. Reeve
5 Intellectual Virtue and the Non-Sage in Stoicism 77
Ryan Korstange
PART II: THE ASSUMPTION RE-EXAMINED
6 Pagan and Christian Paths to Wisdom 93
David Bradshaw
vii
viii Contents
7 Moral and Intellectual Virtue from Greek to Arabic Philosophy 111
Lenn E. Goodman
8 Moral and Intellectual Virtues in the Medieval
Latin Tradition—and the Limits of Virtue Ethics 137
Lenn E. Goodman
9 Hume, Intellectual Virtue, and Virtue Epistemology 153
Dan O’Brien
10 Mill on Rousseau on the Sciences and Morality 169
Piers Norris Turner
11 Kant and the Intellectual Virtues: “Good and Stupid”? 183
Michael Reno
PART III: SPECIFIC VIRTUES AND
CONTEMPORARY REFLECTIONS
12 How Second Nature Becomes Primary 201
Jonathan Jacobs
13 Intellectual Trust in an Examined Life: On Vicious and
Virtuous Trust in Philosophy 223
Ben Almassi
14 Ignorance and Hope 243
Katherine Johnson
15 Intellectual Courage 263
Eric Kraemer
16 Patience and Practical Wisdom 277
Matthew Pianalto
17 The Virtues of Justice and Mercy: On Knowing the Difference 293
Audrey L. Anton
Index 323
About the Contributors 331
Acknowledgments
As is often the case with works such as this one, there are many people de-
serving of acknowledgment, without whom this collection either would not
have been possible or would not have been as good. First, naturally, I would
like to thank the editors at Rowman & Littlefield International, in particular,
Rebecca Anastasi, Sarah Campbell, and Isobel Cowper-Coles, both for their
faith in the project and their patience throughout the revision process. Second,
I must thank all of my contributors, but especially those who were selected
several years ago and stood by the project as the final contributors and con-
tributions were secured. All of these people shared in my vision to make the
volume as inclusive of both historical and contemporary accounts as possible.
I wish to thank Tom Magnell and the International Society for Value Inquiry
for the opportunity to host a conference on virtue ethics, which drew my atten-
tion to the need of such a volume. I must also thank the members of the Phi-
losophy and Religion Department at Western Kentucky University for their help
and support of that conference, especially Eric Bain-Selbo and Paula Williams.
Although funded for other reasons, I must thank the National Endowment for the
Humanities for the Enduring Questions Grant it awarded me, as I used much of
the research conducted under that grant in putting the collection together.
I must thank several anonymous reviewers for their assistance in review-
ing, selecting, and refining contributions. I thank my friends and family for
their love and support. Most of all, I thank my husband, Stephen Kershner,
for everything. Steve graciously reviewed drafts of everything multiple times,
if only to indulge my paranoia of missing typos. I was justified in my fear as
Steve caught many mishaps and offered countless suggestions for style and
readability, most of which I took. I apologize for any errors in the manuscript,
as those are certainly my fault. I thank Steve for everything else that goes well.
ix