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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. Read more ASIN B00ADP7636 XRay Not Enabled ISBN13 978-1139614511 Language English File size 625 KB Page Flip Enabled Publisher Cambridge University Press Word Wise Enabled Print length 237 pages Accessibility Learn more Screen Reader Supported Publication date February 14, 2013 Enhanced typesetting Enabled