Virtue, situationism, and the cognitive value of art

Journal article

Berger, Jacob and Alfano, Mark. (2016). Virtue, situationism, and the cognitive value of art. Monist. 99(2), pp. 144 - 158. https://doi.org/10.1093/monist/onv039
AuthorsBerger, Jacob and Alfano, Mark
Abstract

Virtue-based moral cognitivism holds that at least some of the value of some art consists in conveying knowledge about the nature of virtue and vice. We explore here a challenge to this view, which extends the so-called situationist challenge to virtue ethics. Evidence from social psychology indicates that individuals’ behavior is often susceptible to trivial and normatively irrelevant situational influences. This evidence not only challenges approaches to ethics that emphasize the role of virtue but also undermines versions of moral cognitivism, because the value of art cannot consist in teaching us about traits that do not exist. We thus recommend a new account of the cognitive value of art: art teaches how context and character interact to produce action.

Year2016
JournalMonist
Journal citation99 (2), pp. 144 - 158
PublisherOxford University Press
ISSN0026-9662
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)https://doi.org/10.1093/monist/onv039
Scopus EID2-s2.0-84975728192
Page range144 - 158
Research GroupInstitute for Religion and Critical Inquiry
Publisher's version
File Access Level
Controlled
Place of publicationUnited Kingdom
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