Virtue ethics

References and further reading

	Anscombe, G.E.M. (1958) ‘Modern Moral Philosophy’, Philosophy 33: 1–19. (Seminal article, critical of modern ethics and advocating return to the virtues.)
	Aristotle (c. mid 4th century ) Nicomachean Ethics, trans. with notes by T. Irwin, Indianapolis, IN: Hackett Publishing Company, 1985. (Essential reading. The ‘function argument’ occurs in I 7. Books II–V concern the virtues of character, while practical wisdom is the topic of VI.)
	Blum, L.A. (1980) Friendship, Altruism and Morality, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. (Includes criticism of Kantian ethics, and a virtue-based alternative.)
	Crisp, R. (1996) How Should One Live? Essays on the Virtues, Oxford: Clarendon Press. (Edited collection of commissioned papers on central issues in virtue theory.)
	Crisp, R. and Slote, M. (1997) Virtue Ethics, Oxford: Oxford University Press. (A collection of well-known papers on the virtues, with introductory essay. Includes bibliography on various topics.)
	Foot, P. (1978) Virtues and Vices, Oxford: Blackwell. (A collection of important papers. Chapter 1 is on virtues and vices, while 8–11 concern moral reasons for action.)
	Gilligan, C. (1982) In a Different Voice: Psychological Theory and Women’s Development, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press. (Suggests that feminine ethics may be less abstract and rule-governed than masculine ethics.)
	Kant, I. (1785) Grundlegung zur Metaphysik der Sitten, trans. L.W. Beck, Foundations of the Metaphysics of Morals, Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice Hall, 2nd edn, 1995. (Classic defence of the categorical imperative and the centrality of moral motivation by the sense of duty rather than by inclination.)
	Mac Intyre, A. (1981) After Virtue, London: Duckworth. (Influential critique of modern ethics, and advocacy of Thomistic virtue ethics.)
	Mc Dowell, J. (1979) ‘Virtue and Reason’, The Monist 62: 331–50. (Important article, combining themes from Aristotle and Wittgenstein. Difficult.)
	Murdoch, I. (1970) The Sovereignty of Good, London: Routledge & Kegan Paul. (Profound reflections on modernity by a Platonist.)
	Noddings, N. (1984) Caring: A Feminine Approach to Ethics and Moral Education, Berkeley, CA: University of California Press. (A version of feminist ethics, in which the virtue of caring is made central, as opposed to concern for moral obligation or duty.)
	Plato (c. 380–367) Republic, trans. R. Waterfield, Harmondsworth: Penguin, 1994. (First major expression of virtue ethics.)
	Stocker, M. (1976) ‘The Schizophrenia of Modern Ethical Theory’, Journal of Philosophy 73: 453–6. (Influential article, capturing much of the unhappiness with modern ethical theory.)
	Williams, B. (1973) ‘‘A Critique of Utilitarianism’’, in J.J. Smart and B. Williams, Utilitarianism For and Against, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. (A wide-ranging and suggestive series of criticisms of utilitarian ethics. Sections 3–5 concern integrity.)
	Williams, B. (1985) Ethics and the Limits of Philosophy, Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press and London: Fontana. (Important discussion and critique of modern ethics.)