Virtues and Vices

This stimulating and constructive book approaches ethics from an Aristotelian/biological standpoint. The author argues that, just as biologists are concerned with conditions under which creatures flourish, moral philosophers must be concerned with the conditions under which members of the human species flourish. Professor Wallace views human character as a complex in which virtues (such as courage) and vices (such as cowardice) are primary functioning elements. He sees virtues as those character traits that promote human flourishing, vices as traits that detract from it. He is especially concerned with three types of virtues - those affecting practical reasoning (restraint), commitment to social behavior (conscientiousness), and interpersonal relations (benevolence). Drawing effectively on a wide range of recent as well as classical works of philosophy, Professor Wallace also includes pertinent examples from literature. Although the issues he discusses are of most immediate concern to philosophers, anyone interested in ethics will find this book rewarding reading.