Moral Psychology: An Introduction

Moral psychology is the systematic inquiry into how morality works, when it does work, and breaks down when it doesn't work. In this comprehensive new textbook, Mark Alfano outlines the five central concepts in the study of moral psychology: agency, patiency, sociality, temporality, and reflexivity. Subsequent chapters each assess a key area of research, which Alfano relates both to the five central concepts and to empirical findings. He then draws out the philosophical implications of those findings before suggesting future directions for research. One of Alfano's guiding themes is that moral philosophy without psychological content is empty, whereas psychological investigation without philosophical insight is blind. He advocates and demonstrates a holistic vision that pictures moral psychology as a project of collaborative inquiry into the descriptive and normative aspects of the human condition. Featuring a glossary of technical terms, further reading sections and chapter-by-chapter study questions, this rich, systematic, and accessible introduction to moral psychology will be suitable for both undergraduates and researchers in philosophy, psychology and related fields.

Politics & Social Sciences

Alfano, Mark

Philosophy

Polity

Nietzsche on Virtue (Elements in the Philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche)

Computers & Technology

Cambridge University Press

Character as Moral Fiction

Everyone wants to be virtuous, but recent psychological investigations suggest that this may not be possible. Mark Alfano challenges this theory and asks, not whether character is empirically adequate, but what characters human beings could have and develop. Although psychology suggests that most people do not have robust character traits such as courage, honesty and open-mindedness, Alfano argues that we have reason to attribute these virtues to people because such attributions function as self-fulfilling prophecies - children become more studious if they are told that they are hard-working and adults become more generous if they are told that they are generous. He argues that we should think of virtue and character as social constructs: there is no such thing as virtue without social reinforcement. His original and provocative book will interest a wide range of readers in contemporary ethics, epistemology, moral psychology and empirically informed philosophy.

Self-Help

Happiness

Nietzsche's Moral Psychology

Nietzsche, a trained philologist, frequently urges his readers to interpret him carefully. In this book, Mark Alfano combines detailed close reading with digital methods (corpus analysis and semantic network visualization) to reframe our understanding of this major figure. He argues that virtue is a neglected concept in Nietzsche's writings, and sets out a fresh interpretation of Nietzschean virtues as well-calibrated drives. As different people embody different constellations of drives, so virtues differ from person to person. For Nietzsche himself, Alfano argues, five virtues are essential: curiosity, courage, a sense of humor, and pathos of distance (that is, contemptuousness) toward one's self and toward one's society. This innovative and original book will be invaluable for historians of philosophy, contemporary researchers in moral psychology and virtue theory, and philosophers interested in the fast-growing methodologies of the digital humanities.

Product Description Nietzsche, a trained philologist, frequently urges his readers to interpret him carefully. In this book, Mark Alfano combines detailed close reading with digital methods (corpus analysis and semantic network visualization) to reframe our understanding of this major figure. He argues that virtue is a neglected concept in Nietzsche's writings, and sets out a fresh interpretation of Nietzschean virtues as well-calibrated drives. As different people embody different constellations of drives, so virtues differ from person to person. For Nietzsche himself, Alfano argues, five virtues are essential: curiosity, courage, a sense of humor, and pathos of distance (that is, contemptuousness) toward one's self and toward one's society. This innovative and original book will be invaluable for historians of philosophy, contemporary researchers in moral psychology and virtue theory, and philosophers interested in the fast-growing methodologies of the digital humanities. Review ‘An audacious work in digital humanities scholarship, Nietzsche's Moral Psychology is interesting not simply because it offers well-argued rereadings of Nietzsche's classic works in moral psychology, but also because of its semantic network methodology … Alfano's fresh approach to the Nietzschean virtues - expanded here to include courage, curiosity, the pathos of distance, and the ability to laugh - are especially insightful.’ J. G. Moore, Choice‘Alfano's virtue-theoretic reading is a stimulating and original contribution to the lively debate about Nietzsche's moral psychology. Everyone interested in that debate should read his book.’ Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews Book Description Examines Nietzsche's thinking on the virtues using a combination of close reading and digital analysis. About the Author Mark Alfano is Associate Professor of Ethics and Philosophy of Technology at Delft University of Technology. He is the author of Character as Moral Fiction (Cambridge, 2013) and Moral Psychology: An Introduction (2016).

This book explores men's attraction to violent extremist movements and terrorism. Drawing on multi-method, interdisciplinary research, this book explores the centrality of masculinity to violent extremist recruitment narratives across the religious and political spectrum. Chapters examine the intersection of masculinity and violent extremism across a spectrum of movements including: the far right, Islamist organizations, male supremacist groups, and the far left. The book identifies key sites and points at which the construction of masculinity intersects with, stands in contrast to and challenges extremist representations of masculinity. It offers an insight into where the potential appeal of extremist narratives can be challenged most effectively and identifies areas for both policy making and future research.

Masculinity and Violent Extremism (Global Masculinities)

Roose, Joshua M.

Flood, Michael

Greig, Alan

Copland, Simon

Social Sciences

PALGRAVE~MACMILLAN

Experimental Philosophy for Beginners: A Gentle Introduction to Methods and Tools (Springer Graduate Texts in Philosophy)

Fischer, Eugen

Sytsma, Justin

Thompson, Kyle

Kornmesser, Stephan

Bauer, Alexander Max

Allard, Aurélien

Baumgartner, Lucien

Cova, Florian

Engelhardt, Paul

Meyer, Henrike

Reuter, Kevin

Wyszynski, Marc

Springer

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