Critical Realism, Virtue Ethics, and Moral Agency

2020 ◽  
pp. 89-100
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Daly
Keyword(s):  
Virtue Ethics ◽  
Moral Agency ◽  
Critical Realism

Small, Local, and Low-Tech Firms as Agents of Sustainable Change

2021 ◽  
pp. 230-253
Author(s):  
Iana Nesterova
Keyword(s):  
Moral Agency ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Ecological Economics ◽  
Sustainable Change ◽  
World Views ◽  
Philosophical Perspective ◽  
Ecological Degradation ◽  
Strong Sustainability ◽  
To Receive

With severe ecological degradation unfolding, the strong sustainability approach underpinned by ecological economics calls for a post-growth vision of the economy. This chapter adopts a philosophical perspective of critical realism and argues that such a vision of the economy does not arise on its own. It is the result of intentional transformation of structures by agents, the result of sustainable change. The chapter proposes small, local, and low-tech firms as agents of sustainable change. Such agency needs to be operationalized, which should be done via the development of the moral agency of individuals. The chapter warns that sustainable change is not an easy undertaking, since agents are constrained by structures which operate against it. It concludes that it is not merely concrete practices, but moral agency and the values and world views of individuals that need to receive more attention in investigating sustainable change and bringing about a post-growth world.

What’s good about the good life? Action theory, virtue ethics and modern morality

2020 ◽  
pp. 019145372094837
Author(s):  
Frédéric Vandenberghe
Keyword(s):  
Virtue Ethics ◽  
Good Life ◽  
Action Theory ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Theoretical Perspective ◽  
The Self ◽  
The Good Life ◽  
The Social ◽  
New Research ◽  
The Right

The article explores the scope and the limits of virtue ethics from the perspective of critical theory (Habermas) and critical realism (Bhaskar). Based on new research in moral sociology and anthropology, it ponders how the self-realization of each can be combined with the self-determination of all. The article adopts an action-theoretical perspective on morality and defends the priority of the right over the good. It suggests that in plural and polarized societies, there no longer exists a consensus on any version of the good life. It therefore limits the scope of virtue ethics to personal life and pleads for a minima moralia at the social and political level.

scholarly journals Institutions and moral agency: the case of Scottish banking

2019 ◽  
Vol 15 (5) ◽  
pp. 845-859 ◽  
Author(s):  
Angus Robson ◽  
Ron Beadle
Keyword(s):  
Moral Agency ◽  
Institutional Economics ◽  
Global Financial Crisis ◽  
Critical Realism ◽  
Causal Power ◽  
Social Structures ◽  
Different Types ◽  
Corporate Goals ◽  
Moral Choices ◽  
The Global Financial Crisis

AbstractIt has been an enduring concern of institutional economics and critical realism to understand how individuals are able to exercise agency in the context of social structures, and to maintain appropriate connections, separations and balances between these two levels of causal power. This paper explores the contribution of Alasdair MacIntyre's neo-Aristotelian philosophy to the topic. Empirical data are provided from the career narratives of senior Scottish bankers recalled in the aftermath of the global financial crisis of 2007/8. The method of the study is interpretive, using themes drawn from MacIntyre's writings. These bankers faced moral choices as tensions developed between their own professional standards and the new corporate goals of the banks. We discuss MacIntyre's understanding of individual moral agency as a narrative quest in the context of different types of institution with different and often conflicting ideas about what constitutes good or right action. Habituation and deliberation are important in enabling action, but fully developed moral agency also depends on individuals being able to make choices in the space opened up by tensions within and between institutions.

Catholic Moral Theology and the Virtues: Integrating Psychology in Models of Moral Agency

2020 ◽  
Vol 81 (2) ◽  
pp. 326-347
Author(s):  
David Cloutier ◽  
Anthony H. Ahrens
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognitive Theory ◽  
Virtue Ethics ◽  
Moral Agency ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Moral Theology ◽  
Thomas Aquinas ◽  
Moral Disagreement ◽  
Virtue Theory ◽  
Moral Issues

The widespread embrace of virtue ethics in Catholic morality has not overcome sharp disagreement on particular moral issues. The authors argue that more attention be paid to developing the account of what a virtue is (“virtue theory”) in order to connect virtues with individual acts. Building on Thomas Aquinas, the authors suggest social cognitive theory provides key insights into the mechanics of agents “acting from character” and offers an empirical program that can further our understanding of moral disagreement.

Madness, recovery and moral agency

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neely Myers ◽  
Alison Hamilton ◽  
Byron Good
Keyword(s):  
Moral Agency
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