アリストテレスから孔子まで「徳」は古今東西、文化的背景を問わず、哲学や宗教にとって中心的な課題の一つとなってきました。今日の哲学者や神学者、心理学者は、カント哲学や功利主義などの「ルール第一主義」に代わるものと見做しています。「徳」をどのように理解すべきか、その役割、修養、規則の順守とは異なる物の考え方や行動の指針について手引きし、私たちの感情、欲、理性との関係についても考察します。さまざまな徳目と大罪を俯瞰し、さらにこれまでの哲学的考察を吟味します。
   

• Introduces the virtues and their role in philosophical and religious thinking, from Aristotle and Confucius to today
• Considers the virtues in a variety of cultural contexts
• Explores the variety of virtues: moral, intellectual, theological, and corrective
• Examines what have come to be known as the key virtues (and some of the vices)

  
From the philosophy of Aristotle and Confucius, to Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologiae, to the paintings of Raphael, Botticelli and many more, fascination with the virtues has endured and evolved to fit a wide range of cultural, religious, and philosophical contexts through the centuries.
   
This Very Short Introduction introduces readers to the various virtues: the moral virtues, the intellectual virtues, and the theological virtues, as well as the capital vices. It explores the role of the virtues in moral life, their cultivation, and how they offer ways of thinking and acting that are alternatives to mere rule-following. It also considers the relationship of the virtues to our own emotions, desires, and rational capacities.