Description
Book SynopsisMemoir Ethics: Good Lives and the Virtues is a philosophical study of moral themes in memoirs, exploring how memoirists present and defend perspectives on good lives. It pays particular attention to the interplay of the virtues, including their interplay with additional (non-moral) types of values in good lives. More generally, it explores the relevance of memoir to moral philosophy, and in turn how moral philosophy enters into elucidating and critiquing memoirs. Memoirs are understood as non-fiction narratives written by oneself and significantly about oneself (including full-life autobiographies). Mike W. Martin explores perspectives on good lives as they are expressed in memoirs written by both philosophers and non-philosophers. Most of the chapters focus on one of the generic aspects of good lives: moral goodness, authenticity, meaningfulness, happiness, health, and self-fulfillment. The book clarifies how memoirists often employ life-based arguments in defending value perspecti
Table of ContentsChapter 1 Morality in Memoir Chapter 2 Life-Based Arguments Chapter 3 Good Character Chapter 4 Authenticity as a Virtue Chapter 5 Authenticity and Self-Knowledge Chapter 6 Meaning and Motivation Chapter 7 Meaning and Unity Chapter 8 Pursuits of Happiness Chapter 9 Healthy Coping with Illness Chapter 10 Self-Fulfillment Chapter 11 Philosophers’ Memoirs Chapter 12 Conclusion: Lives and Stories
