Attention to Virtues: An Affective Grammar

In Attention to Virtues, Robert C. Roberts offers a view of moral philosophical inquiry reminiscent of the ancient Greek concern that philosophy improve a practitioner's life by improving her character. The book divides human virtues into three groups: virtues of caring (generosity and truthfulness, for example, are direct, while justice and the sense of duty are indirect), enkratic virtues (courage, self-control), and humility, which is in a class by itself. The virtues are individuated by their conceptual structure, which Roberts calls their 'grammar.' Well-illustrated accounts of generosity, gratitude, compassion, forgivingness, truthfulness, patience, courage, justice, and a sense of duty relate such traits to human concerns and the emotions that express them in the circumstances of life. The book provides a comprehensive account of excellent moral character, and yet treats each virtue in enough detail to bring it to life.