Virtue Perspective Research Articles

Emotion regulation from a virtue perspective

BackgroundThe ability to regulate one’s emotional state is an important predictor of several behaviors such as reframing a challenging situation to reduce anger or anxiety, concealing visible signs of sadness or fear, or focusing on reasons to feel happy or calm. This capacity is referred to as emotion regulation. Deficits in this ability can adversely affect one’s adaptive coping, thus are associated with a variety of other psychopathological symptoms, including but not limited to depression, borderline personality disorder, substance use disorders, eating disorders, and somatoform disorders.MethodsThe present study examined emotion regulation in relation to the virtue-based psychosocial adaptation model (V-PAM). 595 participants were clustered based on their Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS) score, producing two clusters (i.e., high functioning vs. low functioning). Then, emotion regulation group membership was discriminated by using five V-PAM virtue constructs, including courage, integrity, practical wisdom, committed action, and emotional transcendence.ResultsResults show that five virtues contribute to differentiating group membership. Practical wisdom was the strongest contributor, followed by integrity, emotional transcendence, committed action, and courage. Predictive discriminant analysis was conducted and 71% of cases were correctly classified. A discussion of the relationship between emotion regulation and virtues was elaborated.ConclusionThe concept of virtue holds significant importance in the comprehension of an individual’s capacity to regulate their emotions, meriting future study.

Evaluation Model for Virtue Education in Business English Courses

Virtue education is an effective way to cultivate youth’s values through their day-to-day learning activities. However, it is difficult to evaluate the effectiveness due to the implicit and accumulative property of virtue education, which is coherently consistent with self-efficacy. Thus, a processive evaluation model for Business English (BE) was designed, in which, virtue education is divided into three dimensions, and their coherence with self-efficacy is supported by literature. A 3-level index system was constructed based on CIPP. As a core component of this evaluation system, a bilingual 35-item College Academic Self-efficacy Inventory from Virtue Perspective (CASI-V) was developed, which is derived from CASI. The reliability and validity analysis were then conducted to test the quality of the scale. The results show that the instrument is qualified to be used in subsequent research.

The Interplay of Situations, Social Roles, and Virtue Expression

We discuss human traits and their contextualization in situations and social roles. Our focus is ultimately to explore the contextualization of virtue traits, but most of the research on contextualizing traits has, up to now, been centered on personality traits. Therefore, much of our examination is on how personality traits relate to contextual factors, but we extrapolate those findings to virtues and discuss theory and research related to the contextualization of virtue traits. In the exploration of trait contextualization, we clarify that current understandings of traits do not take them to be simplistic behavioral tendencies that manifest despite contextual influences. Instead, the contemporary understanding of traits is that they are influenced by both situational factors and social role expectations. This means that personality and virtue traits will be appropriate in some contexts but not others, and that when they are expressed, that expression can be expected to be modified by the context. We begin with a brief introduction to the concept of virtues, following the STRIVE-4 Model of virtues. We then explore direct situational influence on action, the ways individuals influence situations, and three types of person-situation interactions. We then present practical wisdom as a generally neglected feature of person-situation interactions. We argue that practical wisdom's role in person-situation interactions goes beyond what shows up in personality research by clarifying that some individuals see more opportunities for virtue trait expression in situations than others. Moreover, this practical wisdom underwrites high-quality decision-making. Our discussion of the social role contextualization of virtues follows that is based on Identity Theory, which explains that social roles are repetitive patterns of action that are included in social structures and result in role identity formation in the individual. We then clarify this theoretical discussion with examples of common role and virtue enactments from the parenting, teaching, and healing roles. We conclude by discussing how a virtue perspective adds important elements (agency, aspiration, and practical wisdom) to the contextualization of traits.

Living Accountably: Accountability as a Virtue

This paper tries to show that there is an important virtue (with no generally recognized name) that could be called “accountability.” This virtue is a trait of a person who embraces being held accountable and consistently displays excellence in relations in which the person is held accountable. After describing the virtue in more detail, including its motivational profile, some core features of this virtue are described. Empirical implications and an agenda for future research are briefly discussed. Possible objections to the virtue are considered and rebutted, and relations to other virtues, particularly the personal virtue of justice, are discussed. In conclusion, we suggest that though this virtue has not received the attention it deserves in contemporary society, it has been more clearly recognized in other cultures. Some of the reasons for the partial eclipse of the virtue are understandable and justifiable, but there are good reasons to think our society would be improved if we paid more attention to accountability from a virtue perspective.

Professional Virtues for a Responsible Adaptation to Sea Level Rise

In the field of responsibility and climate change, much attention has been paid to actions and what we need to do in order to take responsibility. This paper shifts the perspective from what we should do to how we should be in order to be responsible. Looking at the case of local adaptation to sea level rise, the question of what characterizes a responsible planner is addressed. Departing from the idea of professional virtues, aspirational characteristics are extrapolated from three codes of ethics for planners. The identified virtues are discussed in relation to the central challenges of adaptation to sea level rise, giving an indication of which virtues are most important in this given context. When placing the responsible planner in an institutional context, it is evident that while a virtue perspective should not replace a system analysis, it provides a valuable complement to the traditional action-focused discourse on responsible adaptation.

The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective by William C. Mattison III

Reviewed by: The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective by William C. Mattison III Charles Nathan Ridlehoover william c. mattison iii, The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017). Pp. xiii + 279. $100. In modern literature on the Sermon on the Mount, there is no shortage of historical-critical, literary, and, more recently, postcolonial and feminist studies. This reservoir of scholarship provides ample resources for those inquiring about the origins, structure, and background of individual passages in the Sermon. Yet, amid this body of literature, very little has been written on the convergence of virtue-centered ethics and the Sermon. William Mattison, who is associate professor of theology at the University of Notre Dame, has written the present volume to fill this perceived void. His overarching purpose is that this text will not only further studies of the Sermon and virtue-centered ethics but will also contribute to the ongoing study of their intersection. To accomplish this task, M. begins with an explanation of the book's need, structure, and methodology. M. unabashedly admits his preference for a Thomistic ressourcement (meaning in continuity with patristics) virtue approach to morality (emphasis his). The section on the book's structure is especially helpful. The book's chapter order follows from M.'s rendering of the Sermon's structure. The book ends with the Lord's Prayer, which M. argues is the center of both the Sermon and foundational for the life of the church (with which I wholeheartedly agree). In terms of the individual chapters, M. addresses exegetical questions relevant to the biblical text but always as a segue to broader questions within a virtue-centered approach to morality. The first chapter begins with an analysis of the beatitudes (Matt 5:1-16). In many ways, this chapter sets the tone for M.'s reading of the Sermon. His initial argument is that the Sermon is primarily concerned with happiness. Happiness, of course, is the topic of numerous classical treatments of ethics and, therefore, as the Sermon's argued theme justifies the present study. M. continues with an analysis of each beatitude and its relation to qualifying conditions and subsequent rewards. The second chapter details the theme of "fulfillment" in Matt 5:17-48. Included in this chapter is an examination of the differences in Jesus's relationship to both the moral and the ceremonial laws of Judaism. M. argues that there is more continuity than is generally acknowledged between the old laws and Jesus's "new law." The highlight of this chapter is M.'s attention to the questions, (1) why are there six laws, and (2) why these six laws? In chap. 3, M. examines Matt 6:1-18, arguing that this section of the Sermon is a textbook lesson for intentionality and Thomistic action theory. Thomistic action theory explains the nature of certain acts with regard to their ends—in the case of Matthew 6, the concept of rewards. M. desires to correct the misunderstanding that [End Page 328] virtue theory is focused only on interiority. In chap. 4, he details the most structurally difficult section of the Sermon, 6:19–7:12, tracing the theme of single-mindedness throughout these verses. The first section, 6:19-34, examines one's view of temporal goods, and the second section, 7:1-11, examines one's relationships with brothers/sisters, outsiders, and God. This chapter is M.'s strongest exegetical chapter, particularly in regard to 6:25-34. The conclusion of the Sermon (7:13-29) is detailed in chap. 5. Given the eschatological (future) aspect of these verses, M. explains the Sermon conclusion in light of the virtue/vice of hope and presumption. The final chapter examines the Lord's Prayer and its relation to the theological (petitions 1–3) and cardinal virtues (petitions 1–4). In reading this volume, one will immediately be impressed with the organization and writing. Each chapter's introduction clearly states the author's thesis, and the explanations of difficult concepts are stellar. As M. states in his acknowledgments, the concerns of this book are for the ongoing work of Catholic...

Gender and worker productivity issues associated with sport betting from an ethical perspective

Using selected intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors grounded in consequentialism, deontology, and virtue perspectives, an empirical study was conducted on highly educated professionals in the Pittsburgh, PA area. The working business professionals that were targeted for this research were those that the primary investigator has accumulated over time as part of the researcher's LinkedIn™ social network. Many male respondents felt that engaging in sport-related betting within the workplace was more acceptable than their females and tended to feel more utilitarian in their approach to justify such actions. Typically a deontology-based ethical perspective suited males as they felt that sport-related gambling activities had a more positive impact on the emotional state of the office atmosphere and were more willing to become personally less productive and use company resources at work during sporting events.

Gender and worker productivity issues associated with sport betting from an ethical perspective

Using selected intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors grounded in consequentialism, deontology, and virtue perspectives, an empirical study was conducted on highly educated professionals in the Pittsburgh, PA area. The working business professionals that were targeted for this research were those that the primary investigator has accumulated over time as part of the researcher's LinkedIn™ social network. Many male respondents felt that engaging in sport-related betting within the workplace was more acceptable than their females and tended to feel more utilitarian in their approach to justify such actions. Typically a deontology-based ethical perspective suited males as they felt that sport-related gambling activities had a more positive impact on the emotional state of the office atmosphere and were more willing to become personally less productive and use company resources at work during sporting events.

Book review: William C. Mattison, III, The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective

Book review: William C. Mattison, III, <i>The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective</i>

Judging athletes’ moral actions: some critical reflections

ABSTRACTApproving or disapproving of athletes’ moral conduct and character is commonplace. In this essay I explore to what extent such judgements are valid and reliable moral judgements. I identify some methodological problems associated with making moral judgements particularly, but not exclusively, from a virtue perspective. I argue that we have no reliable access to states of mind needed to make informed evaluations. Moreover, even if such access was available, the validity of our judgements would be compromised or limited by our own moral character.Abbreviations: ECB: England and Wales Cricket Board; VAR: Video Assistant Referee

The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective by William C. Mattison III

Reviewed by: The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective by William C. Mattison III Michael A. Wahl The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective by William C. Mattison III (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017), xiii + 279 pp. William Mattison's The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology endeavors to remedy the lack of sustained engagement between theological exegesis of Matthew 5–7 and the tradition of moral reflection grounded in the virtues. In short, it argues that the convergences between the Sermon and virtue ethics prove mutually illuminating. Reading the Sermon on the Mount through the lens of the virtues casts light on the structure and content of Jesus's words, while the vision of the Christian life presented in the sermon both refines and reorients a classical understanding of the virtues. Mattison explicitly situates his project within the trajectory of moral theology advanced by Servais Pinckaers (5). This claim is substantiated by his insistence that a shared understanding of morality as the pursuit of happiness rather than the fulfillment of duty undergirds the fruitfulness of the engagement between the Sermon and virtue ethics. Moreover, drawing liberally from the treasury of patristic and medieval (especially Thomistic) commentary on the scriptural text, Mattison's exegesis of the Sermon reflects an evident concern for the sources of Christian ethics. This approach is bound to generate valuable insights, of course, given the congeniality of those commentators to an approach rooted in the virtues. At the same time, he also refers to a plethora of contemporary biblical scholarship in order to highlight the commonalities between more recent research and the tradition. Nevertheless, readers seeking a historical-critical [End Page 612] examination of Matthew 5–7 will be disappointed, for despite his facility with the literature, Mattison's is decidedly a work of moral theology, and his engagement with contemporary exegesis is at the service of that aim. Indeed, his strategic deployment of biblical commentary—ancient and modern—constitutes one of the book's key virtues. The structure of the book follows, for the most part, the order of the biblical text. The first chapter examines the beatitudes and argues for an "intrinsic relationship" between "the characteristics of the blessed and the rewards they attain" (17). This relationship holds that there exists a continuity of activity between the qualifying condition declared blessed here and now and the reward promised to those who embody those qualities. Mattison surveys each of the beatitudes in order to illustrate this point, showing how, for instance, there exists, contrary to expectations, profound continuity between "refusing to find relief in worldly comforts" which characterizes those who mourn, the qualifying condition, and those who receive "the comfort of eternal reward" (29). This analysis aims to illustrate the connection between ethics and eschatology by demonstrating the beatitudes' simultaneous promise of God's future deliverance and exhortation to a particular way of living here and now. A potential weakness of Mattison's approach, however, is that emphasis on the continuity between the qualifications and rewards of the beatitudes overshadows the discontinuity between the content of the beatitudes and the powers of this world. In the process, Mattison overlooks an opportunity to consider how a virtue-based analysis of the sermon might prove useful not only for personal holiness but also for social transformation. Mattison offers the beginnings of such an analysis in his treatment on the "utterly ecclesiological" verses about salt and light, but a more extended discussion of this matter would be helpful (55). Chapter 2 considers the six antitheses of Matthew 5:17–48 in order to determine how Jesus can be understood to fulfill the Mosaic Law in both its moral and ceremonial dimensions. Mattison argues that the foundation of the new law's fulfillment of the old resides in their possession of a common telos, namely, bringing about the kingdom of God. Consequently, the new law can be understood as "enjoining prudent activity that constitutes a more perfect participation of the person in the ultimate end sought" even when it commands different material content than the old law (85). Moreover, the new law, as the grace of the...

Withholding and withdrawing treatment for cost-effectiveness reasons: Are they ethically on par?

In healthcare priority settings, early access to treatment before reimbursement decisions gives rise to problems of whether negative decisions for cost-effectiveness reasons should result in withdrawing treatment, already accessed by patients. Among professionals there seems to be a strong attitude to distinguish between withdrawing and withholding treatment, viewing the former as ethically worse. In this article the distinction between withdrawing and withholding treatment for reasons of cost effectiveness is explored by analysing the doing/allowing distinction, different theories of justice, consequentialist and virtue perspectives. The authors do not find any strong reasons for an intrinsic difference, but do find some reasons for a consequentialist difference, given present attitudes. However, overall, such a difference does not, all things considered, provide a convincing reason against withdrawal, given the greater consequentialist gain of using cost-effective treatment. As a result, patients should be properly informed when given early access to treatment, that such treatment can be later withdrawn following a negative reimbursement decision.

The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective by William C. Mattison III

Reviewed by: The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspectiveby William C. Mattison III Charles R. Pinches The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective. By W illiamC. M attison III. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2017. Pp. xiii + 279. $99.99 (cloth). ISBN: 978-1-107-17148-0. In this interesting and helpful book, Mattison throws himself, workmanlike, into the many puzzles and perfections of the Sermon on the Mount. Readers of this book can never lose track of where they are; Mattison takes us point by point through the Sermon and, in an equally ordered fashion, displays for us the long Christian tradition of reflection about the virtues. He uses the latter to interpret the former. "The pattern of this book" he tells us, is to "[suggest] a virtue or virtues in light of which each section of the Sermon might be fruitfully understood" (63). Mattison divides the Sermon in six segments, treating each in its turn in the book's six chapters. He follows Matthew's sequence, with one deviation: he separates the Lord's Prayer, treating it in the final (sixth) chapter, as "the perfect conclusion to this book on the convergences between the Sermon on the Mount and a virtue-centered approach to morality" (269). The book is therefore a commentary of sorts: each chapter opens with a section of text from Matthew in italics, taken from the revised edition of the New American Bible. Mattison then refers repeatedly back to this text, following its sequence. (One minor inconvenience is that the italicized sections from the NAB are not marked by verse, although the commentary refers to verses by number.) The book's chapters are also arranged clearly. Each begins with a detailed chapter plan, ends with a recapitulation of the chapter's themes, and is divided into aptly named sections. Throughout, Mattison guides us along by questions (such as, "What contribution if any does a virtue-centered approach to morality offer for interpretation of these passages?" [187]), which he then proceeds to answer. This style can sometimes seem predictable or ponderous, but its perspicuity is nevertheless something to admire. Mattison has asked himself at every turn how he can make his points clear—and worked like a soldier to do so. [End Page 313] At one juncture, Mattison refers to what he is doing in the book as a "research project" (102). Sometimes it feels this way: as if he is experimenting with something, seeing how he might match the virtues creatively to this most famous text. But the description obscures the significance of what he has done. It seems to me that the central point of the whole book has to do with the fact that the Sermon on the Mount is perhaps the key biblical text for understanding what Aquinas called the "new law." When discussing Jesus's many statements following the form of "you have heard it said . . . but I say to you," Mattison takes note of Pope Benedict XVI's discussion of a passage from Rabbi Jacob Neusner. "What did he [Jesus] leave out [of the law]?" to which Neusner replies, "Nothing." When asked "Then what did he add?" Neusner replies "Himself." Jesus is what is new about the new law. Jesus is the authoritative interpreter of the material content of the new law, in a manner whereby it fulfills the old. He makes possible the living of the law in a way not possible without him. And He Himself is the telosof the law, the very union of God and humanity toward which the old law orients humanity. (116, quoting Benedict, Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the Transfiguration) To grasp the full significance of this book, we should remember that Mattison was a student of Fr. Servais Pinckaers, O.P., who, he tells us, was the book's inspiration. For Mattison (and this reviewer agrees), Pinckaers "is the most impactful post-Vatican II Catholic moral theologian" (xi). Pinckaers, of course, was a Thomist who urged Catholic moral theology to overcome its fascination with the "morality of obligation" (72) and to return rather to the virtue tradition...

The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective by William C. Mattison III

The Sermon on the Mount and Moral Theology: A Virtue Perspective by William C. Mattison III

Bovine Tuberculosis Policy in England: Would a Virtuous Government Cull Mr Badger?

Bovine tuberculosis (bovine TB) is the most important animal health and welfare policy issue in Britain. Badgers are a wildlife reservoir of disease, although the eight-year Independent Scientific Group (ISG) Randomised Badger Culling Trial concluded with a recommendation against culling. The report advised government that bovine TB could be controlled, and ultimately eradicated, by cattle-based measures alone. Despite the ISG recommendation against culling, the farming and veterinary industries continued to lobby government for a badger cull. The 2005–2010 Labour government followed the ISG advice and decided against a cull. The 2010–2015 Coalition and the 2015-present Conservative governments have followed a badger culling policy. This paper investigates whether a virtuous government would cull badgers. It provides an overview of virtue theory in the context of government animal health and welfare policy. Bovine TB and badger control policy options are then analysed in the context of the virtues of justice, wisdom, integrity, loyalty, curiosity, trust, empathy, compassion and aesthetics. Justice is the first virtue of government, and badger culling is seriously problematic from a virtue perspective given that five badgers are culled per cow that avoids slaughter as a result. Analysis based on other virtues strongly suggests that government should not cull badgers. The paper concludes that a virtuous government would not cull badgers as part of policy to control bovine TB in cattle.

Resilience From a Virtue Perspective

Resilience refers to one’s ability to adapt and navigate through challenges in the face of a chronic illness and disability (CID). Originally reported in posttraumatic stress literature, resilience has been studied in various contexts; however, very few studies have been conducted from a virtue perspective. Virtue, in psychological terms, is consistent, everyday action toward a worthwhile pursuit, based on one’s values. From a virtue perspective, resilience is defined as a positive by-product of having endured adversities while transforming them into insightful opportunities for renewal. This article introduces the virtue-based psychosocial adaptation model (V-PAM) and its applicability to the study of resilience. College students with CID ( N = 256) were recruited, and their resilience was empirically examined based on the proposed model.

A virtue analysis of recreational marijuana use.

In contrast to its medical use, the recreational use of marijuana cannot be justified for at least three reasons. First, as scientists have amply documented, it harms the organic functioning of the human body. Second, it impedes our ability to reason and in so doing does harm to us. Finally, it has lasting detrimental effects on the user and his neighbor, even when it occurs in a casual setting. Intoxication is always contrary to the integral good of the person. Thus, the use of marijuana is never warranted even for good, non-medical reasons.

The Ethics of Mandatory Personal Psychotherapy for Trainee Psychotherapists

Although the psychotherapist's personal psychotherapy has received considerable research attention in recent years, little systematic investigation of the ethical issues involved has been published. This article provides a rigorous interrogation of mandatory personal psychotherapy (MPP) as a training requirement for mental health professionals, a topic that remains ethically contentious. The article begins with a discussion of why MPP is an explicitly ethical issue, before debating the ethics of MPP under six questions, each worded to capture a salient ethical issue relevant to the appropriateness of making personal treatment a mandatory training requirement. Using principle, virtue, and care ethics perspectives, the arguments for and against MPP are critically investigated. The article concludes with an ethical position statement.

The serving organisation and leadership for sustainable human development

The paper outlines the development of the foundational anthropological and leadership perspectives on dominant human resource management models. Two influential HRM models (the Michigan model and the Harvard model) are described in detail, with consideration of the assumptions they make about human nature and the leadership principles they are based on. After evaluating these HRM models the author proposes the introduction of a more complex anthropological basis for HRM that includes ideas about the spirituality of self-transcendence and the importance of incorporating a virtue perspective on practicing servant leadership. These ideas are integrated in a model of the serving organisation, in which human resource management makes way for leadership for sustainable human development.

Virtue and Reason in Law

The concept of virtue figures prominently in current approaches to moral and epistemic reasoning. This chapter aims to apply virtue theory to the domain of legal reasoning. My claim is that a virtue approach to legal reasoning illuminates some key aspects of legal reasoning which have, at best, been peripheral in the standard theory of legal reasoning. From a virtue perspective, I shall argue, emerges a picture of legal reasoning that differs in some essential features from the prevalent rule- based approach to legal reasoning.