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Original Article

There is Something About Aristotle: The Pros and Cons of Aristotelianism in Contemporary Moral Education

First published: 22 November 2013
Cited by: 4
Correspondence: Kristján Kristjánsson, Jubilee Centre for Character and Values, School of Education, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, Birmingham, B15 2TT, UK.Email: k.kristjansson@bham.ac.uk

Abstract

The aim of this article is to pinpoint some of the features that do—or should—make Aristotelianism attractive to current moral educators. At the same time, it also identifies theoretical and practical shortcomings that contemporary Aristotelians have been overly cavalier about. Section II presents a brisk tour of ten of the ‘pros’: features that are attractive because they accommodate certain powerful and prevailing assumptions in current moral philosophy and moral psychology—applying them to moral education. Section III explores five versions of the view that Aristotle's position is somehow anachronistic and out‐dated. As none of those bears scrutiny, Section IV addresses ten features of Aristotelianism that do not seem to sit well with contemporary moral philosophy and psychology: the genuine ‘cons’ of Aristotelianism. It is subsequently argued that if we want to avoid acquiring Aristotelianism on the cheap, those less attractive features need to be engaged head‐on: reinterpreted, revised or simply rejected.

Number of times cited: 4

  • , Introduction, Connecting Virtues, (1-12), (2018).
  • , Shu and zhong as the virtue of the Golden Rule: a Confucian contribution to contemporary virtue ethics, Asian Philosophy, 27, 2, (100), (2017).
  • , Undoing bad upbringing through contemplation: An Aristotelian reconstruction, Journal of Moral Education, 43, 4, (468), (2014).
  • , Pity: a mitigated defence, Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 44, 3-4, (343), (2014).