Divine Motivation Theory and Exemplarism

In this paper, I highlight and discuss two significant limitations of Zagzebski’s (in Exemplarist moral theory, Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2017) exemplarist moral theory. Although I focus on Zagzebski’s theory, I argue that these limitations are not unique to her approach but also feature in previous versions of moral exemplarism. The first limitation I identify is inspired by MacIntyre’s (in After virtue, Duckworth, London, 1981) understanding of the concept of virtue and stems from the realization that the emotion of admiration, through which agents identify exemplars, should not be examined in vacuo. Scholars working on moral exemplarism have failed to note that admiration is substantially influenced by prevailing socio-cultural norms and values. I show that ‘the admirable’ varies across cultures and time; and the employment of one’s own emotion of admiration in order to derive the meaning of terms such as virtue and duty would only result in a culture-specific understanding of morality. The second limitation, inspired by Butler’s (in Gender trouble: Feminism and the subversion of identity, Routledge, London, 1990) social constructivist understanding of gender, rests on the realization that several features and characteristics of the agent influence their perception of moral excellence. I focus on the issue of gender and highlight that exemplarist theories justify (and perpetuate) a counter-intuitive gender-specific understanding of morality.

Teaching & Learning Guide for: Contemporary Virtue Ethics

Linda Zagzebski’s exemplarist moral theory takes as its foundation “exemplars of goodness identified directly by the emotion of admiration.” This paper’s basic question is whether Zagzebski’s trust in the emotion of admiration is well-founded. In other words, do we have good reason to trust that those we admire on conscientious reflection warrant our admiration, such that we will not be led astray? The paper’s thesis is that Zagzebski’s theory would be stronger with a more fully developed account of conscience. The paper outlines and discusses Zagzebski’s theory, articulates the epistemic challenge that the theory confronts, and proposes a sketch of an account of conscience that supplements Zagzebski’s account of conscientiousness.

The history of science came early to Oxford. Its first champion was Robert T. Gunther, the son of a keeper of zoology at the British Museum and a graduate of Magdalen College who took a first there in the School of Natural Science in 1892, specializing in zoology ([figure 1][1]). As tutor in natural

Language learning

In her Exemplarist Moral Theory, Linda Zagzebski argues that we can empirically discover the meaning of moral terms like ‘virtue’ and ‘the good life’ by direct reference to moral exemplars – those people we admire as morally exceptional. Her proposal is promising, because (1) moral exemplars play an important motivating role in moral education, and (2) her use of direct reference means we may be able to avoid the contentious descriptivism that accompanies moral terms like ‘good’ and ‘virtue’. In this article, I argue that Zagzebski’s theory fails regarding (2), because her direct reference method must use presupposed descriptions and leads to circular identification of moral exemplars.

Happy accidents happen even in philosophy. Sometimes our arguments yield insights despite missing their target, though when they do others can often spot it more easily. Consider the work of Donald Davidson. Few did more to explore connections among mind, language, and world. Now that we have critical distance from his views, however, we can see that Davidson’s accomplishments are not quite what they seem. First, while Davidson attacked the dualism of conceptual scheme and empirical content, he in fact illustrated a way to hold it. Second, while Davidson used the principle of charity to argue against the dualism, his argument in effect treats the principle as constitutive of a conceptual scheme. And third, while Davidson asserted that he cannot define what truth ultimately is—and while I do not disagree—his work nonetheless allows us to saymore about truth than Davidson himself does. I aim to establish these three claims. Doing so enriches our understanding of issues central to the history of philosophy concerning how, if at all, to divvy up the mental or linguistic contribution, and the worldly contribution, to knowledge. As we see below, Davidson was right in taking his work to be one stage of a dialectic begun by Immanuel Kant.1 He was just wrong about what that stage is. Reconsidering Davidson’s views also moves the current debate forward, as they reveal a previously unrecognized yet intuitive notion of truth—even if Davidson himself remained largely unaware of it. We begin however with scheme/content dualism and Davidson’s argument against it.

ABSTRACTThe emotion of admiration and the semantic theory of natural kinds and direct reference are foundational for Linda Zagzebski's exemplarist moral theory and divine motivation theory. Many have examined difficulties that arise from the central role of admiration, while others have engaged her account of the incarnation. Little attention has been given to her semantic theory or philosophy of language. This essay demonstrates the difficulties and problems that arise from this theory, problems that could be avoided with a sociopractical account of language and exemplarity. One set of problems pertain to the “principle of the division of linguistic labor.” Related problems come to light in Zagzebski's attempt to account for radical changes in perceptions of exemplars through social, political, and ethical revolutions. In the end, her semantic theory creates the very epistemological uncertainties that it is meant to forestall. It also fails to account for radical disagreements about exemplars and the role moral exemplars play in sociopolitical and ethical revolutions.

Kesper-Biermann, Sylvia, Staat und Schule in Kurhessen 1813-1866 (Vandenhoeck & Ruprecht, 2001). Lehning, James, To Be a Citizen. The Political Culture of the Early French Third Republic (Cornell University Press, 2001). Reddy, William, The Navigation of Feeling (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Romani, Roberto, National Character and Public Spirit in Britain and France, 1750-1914 (Cambridge University Press, 2002). Rose, James, Duquesne and the Rise of Steel Unionism (University of Illinois Press, 2001). Rosenfeld, Sophia, A Revolution in Language. The Problem of Signs in Late Eighteenth-Century France (Stanford University Press, 2001). Ruble, Blair, Second Metropolis. Pragmatic Pluralism in Gilded Age Chicago, Silver Age Moscow, and Meiji Osaka (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Ruff, Julius, Violence in Early Modem Europe (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Rumbaut, Ruben and Portes, Alejandro (eds), Ethnicities. Children of Immigrants in America (University of California Press, 2001). Sautman, Francesca Canada and Sheingorn, Pamela (eds), Same Sex Love and Desire among Women in the Middle Ages (Palgrave, 2001). Scranton, Philip (ed.), The Second Wave. Southern Industrialization from the 19405 to the 19705 (University of Georgia Press, 2001). Lilley, Keith, Urban Life in the Middle Ages 1000-1430 (Palgrave, 2001). McCarthy, Justin, The Ottoman Peoples and the End of Empire (Arnold, 2001). Mendie, Michael (ed.), The Putney Debates of 1647. The Army, the Levellers, and the English State (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Michels, George, At War with the Church. Religious Dissent in Seventeenth-century Russia (Stanford University Press, 2001). Mills, Dennis, Rural Community History from Trade Directories (Local Population Studies, 2001). Packer, Ian, Lloyd George, Liberalism and the Land. The Land Issue and Party Politics in England, 1906-1914 (Royal Historical Society, 2001). Parrott, David, Richelieu's Army. War, Government and Society in France, 1624-1642 (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Popkin, Jeremy, Press, Revolution and Social Identities in France, 1830-1835 (Penn State University Press, 2001). Rasmussen, Birgit Brander, Klinenberg, Eric, Nexica, Irene and Wray, Matt (eds), The Making and Unmaking of Whiteness (Duke University Press, 2001). Schechter, Patricia, Ida B. Wells-Bamett and American Reform, 1880-1930 (University of North Carolina Press, 2001). Schulten, Susan, The Geographical Imagination in America, 1880-1930 (University of Chicago Press, 2001). Scott, Tom, Society and Economy in Germany, 1300-1600 (Palgrave, 2001). Shackel,Paul (ed.), Myth, Memory, and the Making of the American Landscape (University Press of Florida, 2001). Smith, John (ed.), When Did Southern Segregation Begin? (Palgrave, 2002). Sokoll, Thomas (ed.), Essex Pauper Letters 1731-1831 (Oxford University Press, 2001). Spraggs, Gillian, Outlaws and Highway men.The Cult of the Robber in England from the Middle Ages to the Nineteenth Century (Pimlico, 2001). Steffen, Lisa, Defining a British State. Treason and National Identity, 1608-1820 (Palgrave, 2001). Stengers, Jean and van Neck, Anne, Masturbation. The History of a Great Terror (St Martin's Press, 2001). Sweeney, Regina, Singing Our Way to Victory. French Cultural Politics and Music during the Great War (Wesleyan University Press, 2001). Veenendaal, Augustus, Railways in the Netherlands. A Brief History, 1834-1994 (Stanford University Press, 2001). Vickeiy, Amanda (ed.), Women, Privilege and Power. British Politics, 1750 to the Present (Oxford University Press, 2001). Vigarello, Georges, A History of Rape. Sexual Violence in France from the 16th to the 20th Century (Polity Press, 2001). Vinson, Ben, Bearing Arms for His Majesty. The Free-Colored Militia in Colonial Mexico (Stanford University Press, 2001). Waldinger, Roger (ed.), Strangers at the Gates. New Immigrants in Urban America (University of California Press, 2001). Worobec, Christine, Possessed. Women, Witches and Demons in Imperial Russia (Northern Illinois University Press, 2001). Xu, Xiaoqun, Chinese Professionals and the Republican State. The Rise of Professional Associations in Shanghai 1912-1937 (Cambridge University Press, 2000). Aron, Cindy, Working at Play. A History of Vacations in the United States (Oxford University Press, 2001). Baron, Samuel, Bloody Saturday in the Soviet Union. Novocherkassk, 1962 (Stanford University Press, 2001). Bielenberg, Andy (ed.), The Irish Diaspora (Longman, 2000). Blok, Anton, Honour and Violence (Polity Press, 2001). Braddick, Michael, State Formation in Early Modem England, c. 1550-1700 (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Brading,D. A.,Mexican Phoenix. Our Lady of Guadalupe:Image andTradition across Five Centuries (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Carney, Judith, Black Rice. The African Origins of Rice Cultivation in the Americas (Harvard University Press, 2001). Carter, Ian, Railways and Culture in Britain. The Epitome of Modernity (Manchester University Press, 2001). Cayton, Andrew and Gray, Susan (eds), The American Midwest. Essays on Regional History (Indiana University Press, 2001). Charle, Christophe, La Crise des sociétés impériales. Allemagne, France, Grande-Bretagne. Essai d'histoire sociale comparée (Seuil, 2001). Chojnacka, Monica, Working Women in Early Modem Venice (Johns Hopkins University Press, 2001). Cohen, Deborah, The War Come Home. Disabled Veterans in Britain and Germany, 1914-1939 (University of California Press, 2001). Cook, James, The Arts of Deception. Playing with Fraud in the Age of Burman (Harvard University Press, 2001). Cowling, Maurice, Religion and Public Doctrine in Modern England, vol. 3 (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Crubaugh, Anthony, Balancing the Scales of Justice. Local Courts and Rural Society in Southwest France, 1730-1800 (Penn State University Press, 2001). Dalley, Bronwyn and Phillips, Jock (eds), Going Public.The Changing Face of New Zealand History (Auckland University Press, 2001). Delaney, Enda, Demography, State and Society. Irish Migration to Britain, 1921-1971 (Liverpool University Press, 2000). Doyle, William (ed.), Old Regime France (Oxford University Press, 2001). Elazar, Dahlia, The Making of Fascism. Class, State, and Counter-Revolution, Italy 1919-1922 (Greenwood Publishing, 2001). Epstein, Steven, Speaking of Slavery. Color, Ethnicity and Human Bondage in Italy (Cornell University Press, 2001). Feldman, Gerald, Allianz and the German Insurance Business, 1933-1943 (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Foot, John, Milan Since the Miracle. City, Culture and Identity (Berg, 2001). Fragnito, Gigliola (ed.), Church, Censorship and Culture in Early Modem Italy (Cambridge University Press, 2001). Jones, Emrys (ed.), The Welsh in London, 1300-2000 (University of Wales Press, 2001). Karpat, Kemal, The Politicization of Islam. Reconstructing Identity, State, Faith, and Community in the Late Ottoman State (Oxford University Press, 2001). Gayot, Gérard and Minard, Philippe (eds), Les ouvriers qualifiés de l'industrie (XVF-XX si碬e) (Revue du Nord, 2001). Gildart, Keith, North Wales Miners. A Fragile Unity, 1943-1996 (University of Wales Press, 2001). Gonick, Cy, A Very Red Life. The Story of Bill Walsh (Canadian Committee on Labor History, 2001). Halliday, Stephen, Underground to Everywhere. London's Underground Railway in the Life of the Capital (Sutton, 2001). Hatcher, John and Bailey, Mark, Modelling the Middle Ages. The History and Theory of England's Economic Development (Oxford University Press, 2001). Hewitt, Nancy, Southern Discomfort. Women's Activism in Tampa, Florida, 18805-19205 (University of Illinois Press, 2001). Heywood, Colin, A History of Childhood (Polity, 2001). Johansen, Shawn, Family Men. Middle-Class Fatherhood in Early Industrializing America (Routledge, 2001). Johnson, Patricia, Hidden Hands. Working-Class Women and Victorian Social-Problem Fiction (University of Ohio Press, 2001).

Language learning

Dogged Don

Human Olfaction at the Intersection of Language, Culture, and Biology

This article hypothesizes that economic reforms become sustainable when the discursive conditions prevailing in society tip against the existing paradigm under exceptional circumstances. Thus, unless the pro-liberalization constituencies dominate the development discourse, economic reforms, initiated under the exigencies of crisis and conditionalities, or carried out by a convinced executive with or without the stimulus of a crisis, will be reversed. The discursive conditions are determined based on eight factors: the dominant view of international intellectuals, illustrative country cases, executive orientations, political will, the degree and the perceived causes of economic crisis, attitudes on the part of donor agencies, and the perceived outcomes of economic reforms. The paper seeks to prove this “discursive dominance” hypothesis for the Indian case through a cross-temporal, comparative review of the evolution of economic policy in India over six different phases.

Much mainstream legal comment on human rights law presents an unhelpfully crude picture of disagreement concerning the significance that should be attached to human rights in particular cultural co...

Books Received