Moral Cultivation: Essays on the Development of Character and Virtue

Moral Cultivation explores an overlooked topic in virtue ethics: the concept of moral cultivation. While the study of virtue ethics focuses on the concept of virtue itself, an exploration of moral cultivation explores the actual process of attaining that virtue. The essays in this collection explore the question: How do we develop good character? Brad K. Wilburn has brought together a range of moral perspectives on this issue. Drawing on different traditions, the essayists employ several schools of thought and thinkers regarding this issue, including the Confucian tradition, ancient Greek philosophy, classical rabbinic thought, the moral theory of Hume, and the imperatives of Kant. Although the essays cover a wide breadth, the focus is on a few basic questions: What does moral cultivation look like? What parts of us need to be cultivated and what methods should be used? How do moral theories connect with this aspect of our moral experience? Moral Cultivation is a great contribution to the study of virtue ethics. It is a rewarding volume for all levels of thinkers and students with an interest in ethics or philosophy. Book jacket.