Moral Heroism without Virtue

Kyle Fruh

• Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• Year: 2025
• eBook ISBN: 9781009571494
• Topic: Philosophy
• Subtopic: Ethics & Moral Philosophy

What is moral heroism? In this book, Kyle Fruh criticizes virtue-centric answers to this question and builds a compelling alternative theoretical view: moral heroism without virtue. Drawing on real-world examples, psychology, and moral philosophy both ancient and contemporary, he argues that in fact the central achievement of moral heroes is the performance of high-stakes sacrifices, so that moral heroism is clearly not a sign of rare moral attainment among an enlightened few, but is instead something enacted by all sorts of people from all walks of life. He also looks at the question of how we respond to moral heroism, both by honoring it and by recruiting it to our efforts at moral improvement and moral education. His book is for anyone interested in moral excellence, the long philosophical traditions which examine it, and contemporary discussions of morally outstanding actions and agents.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Half-title
• Title page
• Imprints page
• Dedication
• Table of Contents
• Acknowledgments
• Introduction
• Chapter 1 Cases and Distinctions
• Chapter 2 The Case against the Virtue Approach
• Chapter 3 A Theory of Heroic Moral Achievement
• Chapter 4 Moral Heroes: Character, Personality, and Practical Necessity
• Chapter 5 Sacrificing, Practical Necessity, and Supererogation
• Chapter 6 Moral Heroism without Virtue in Moral Education
• Chapter 7 Responding to Moral Heroism: Admiring, Honoring, and Commemorating
• Conclusion
• Bibliography
• Index