This anthology brings together first-rate philosophers with a variety of backgrounds, as well as scholars from psychology, economics, and law in order to deliver a collection that captures the multifaceted nature of human character. The chapters are organized thematically and grouped under five headings. Part I “Character in Ethics” contains chapters discussing character in relation to a number of moral philosophers and philosophies: Aristotle, Kant, Hume, Nietzsche, and consequentialism. The chapters in Part II “Character in Moral Psychology” constitute attempts to illuminate: the connections ... More

This anthology brings together first-rate philosophers with a variety of backgrounds, as well as scholars from psychology, economics, and law in order to deliver a collection that captures the multifaceted nature of human character. The chapters are organized thematically and grouped under five headings. Part I “Character in Ethics” contains chapters discussing character in relation to a number of moral philosophers and philosophies: Aristotle, Kant, Hume, Nietzsche, and consequentialism. The chapters in Part II “Character in Moral Psychology” constitute attempts to illuminate: the connections between being an autonomous agent and having character; the role of alienation from one’s motives; the conative and cognitive aspects of virtue; the explanatory role of traits; and the connections between traits and reasons explanations of action. Part III “Character in Psychology and X-Phi” contains chapters on situationist critiques of character, reputation, and gossip; the difference between traits and psychiatric disorders; and character from a psychoanalytic perspective. Part IV “Character and Society” includes chapters on the seeming tension between virtue and free market values; judicial virtues; and the way history shapes character. Finally, Part V “Character in Art” offers chapters on the ways in which characters from artistic works function as models, which audiences can apply to actual persons; the effect that reading fiction has on empathy: situationism and the cognitive value of literature; a chapter on miscasting actors in film; and one on character development in an opera by Mozart.