Virtue, Narrative, and Self connects two philosophical areas of study that have long been treated as distinct: virtue theory and narrative accounts of personal identity. Chapters address several important issues and neglected themes at the intersection of these research areas. Specific examples include the role of narrative in the identification, differentiation, and cultivation of virtue, the nature of practical reasoning and moral competence, and the influence of life’s narrative structure on our conceptions of what it means to live and act well. This volume demonstrates how recent work from the philosophy of mind and action concerning narrativity and our understanding of the self can shed new light on questions about the nature of virtue, practical wisdom, and human flourishing.

This book will be of interest to scholars and advanced students working in virtue theory, moral philosophy, philosophy of mind and action, and moral education.

Joseph Ulatowski is Senior Lecturer in Philosophy and Director of the Experimental Philosophy Research Group at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. He is the author of Why Facts Matter (forthcoming) and Commonsense Pluralism about Truth: An Empirical Defence (2017).

Liezl van Zyl is Associate Professor of Philosophy at the University of Waikato, New Zealand. She is the author of Virtue Ethics: A Contemporary Introduction (Routledge, 2018) and Death and Compassion: A Virtue-based Approach to Euthanasia (Routledge, 2000).