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5004The role of consent in sado-masochistic practicesRes Publica 8 (2): 141-155. 2002.In 1993 the Law Lords upheld the original conviction of five men under the 1861 Offences Against the Person Act for participating in sado-masochistic practices. Although the five men were fully consenting adults, the Law Lords held that consent did not constitute a defence to acts of violence within a sado-masochistic context. This paper examines the judgements in this case and argues that sado-masochistic practices are no different from the known exceptions cited by the court to the idea that c…Read more
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4737Virtue EthicsBloomsbury. 2013.What is virtue? How can we lead moral lives? Exploring how contemporary moral philosophy has led to a revival of interest in the concepts of 'virtue', 'character' and 'flourishing', this is an accessible and critical introduction to virtue ethics. The book includes chapter summaries and guides to further reading throughout to help readers explore, understand and develop a critical perspective towards this important school of contemporary ethical thought.
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2838A Defence of the Aristotelian Virtue of MagnificenceJournal of Value Inquiry 50 (4): 781-795. 2016.
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2132A Response to Harman: Virtue Ethics and Character Traits: DiscusionsProceedings of the Aristotelian Society 100 (2): 215-221. 2000.
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1403Aristotle on constitutive, developmental, and resultant moral luckIn Ian M. Church & Robert J. Hartman (eds.), The Routledge Handbook of the Philosophy and Psychology of Luck, Routledge. pp. 13-24. 2019.This chapter offers a definition of luck from Aristotle's Physics, considers how this definition of luck from the Physics relates to Aristotle's treatment of luck in his works on ethics and the good life, as well as how it compares with the modern understanding of moral luck.
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1147The social nature of engineering and its implications for risk takingScience and Engineering Ethics 16 (1): 147-168. 2010.Making decisions with an, often significant, element of risk seems to be an integral part of many of the projects of the diverse profession of engineering. Whether it be decisions about the design of products, manufacturing processes, public works, or developing technological solutions to environmental, social and global problems, risk taking seems inherent to the profession. Despite this, little attention has been paid to the topic and specifically to how our understanding of engineering as a d…Read more
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1000Common-Sense Virtue Ethics and Moral LuckEthical Theory and Moral Practice 8 (3): 265-276. 2005.Moral luck poses a problem for out conception of responsibility because it highlights a tension between morality and lack of control. Michael Slote’s common-sense virtue ethics claims to avoid this problem. However there are a number of objections to this claim. Firstly, it is not clear that Slote fully appreciates the problem posed by moral luck. Secondly, Slote’s move from the moral to the ethical is problematic. Thirdly it is not clear why we should want to abandon judgements of moral blame i…Read more
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851The Phronimos as a moral exemplar: two internal objections and a proposed solutionJournal of Value Inquiry 58 (1): 131-150. 2024.
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824Unusual Requests and the Doctor-Patient RelationshipJournal of Value Inquiry 40 (2-3): 259-278. 2006.
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787When is deception in research ethical?Clinical Ethics 4 (1): 44-49. 2009.This article examines when deceptive withholding of information is ethically acceptable in research. The first half analyses the concept of deception. We argue that there are two types of accounts of deception: normative and non-normative, and argue that non-normative accounts are preferable. The second half of the article argues that the relevant ethical question which ethics committees should focus on is not whether the person from whom the information is withheld will be deceived, but rather …Read more
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780The psychology of virtue educationIn From Personality to Virtue, . pp. 207-228. 2016.In this chapter I want to take up the specific question of the relationship between moral education and empirical findings in psychology. I will argue that moral education programmes are theoretically possible and would benefit in their practical application from empirical research already in existence in psychology. I will argue that situationism does not pose a threat for moral education, properly conceived, and that, in fact, educators can and should make use of situational factors. It strike…Read more
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773A virtue ethical account of making decisions about riskJournal of Risk Research 13 (2): 217. 2010.Abstract Most discussions of risk are developed in broadly consequentialist terms, focusing on the outcomes of risks as such. This paper will provide an alternative account of risk from a virtue ethical perspective, shifting the focus to the decision to take the risk. Making ethical decisions about risk is, we will argue, not fundamentally about the actual chain of events that the decision sets in process, but about the reasonableness of the decision to take the risk in the first place. A virtu…Read more
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660Akrasia and the emotionsIn Nafsika Athanassoulis & Samantha Vice (eds.), The moral life: essays in honour of John Cottingham, Palgrave-macmillan. pp. 87. 2008.
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608Acquiring Aristotelian VirtueIn The Oxford Handbook of Virtue, . pp. 415-431. 2018.Abstract: This chapter examines the role of the virtuous agent in the acquisition of virtue. It rejects the view of the virtuous agent as a direct model for imitation and instead focuses on recent research on the importance of phronesis. Phronesis is understood as a type of moral ‘know how’ expertise that is supported by a variety of abilities, from emotional maturity, to self-reflection, to an empathic understanding of what moves others, to an ability to see beyond the surface and understand t…Read more
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481Role Modeling is Beneficial in Moral Character Education: A Commentary on Carr (2023)Philosophical Inquiry in Education 30 (3): 240-243. 2023.
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437Educating for virtueIn S. van Hooft, N. Athanassoulis, J. Kawall, J. Oakley & L. van Zyl (eds.), The handbook of virtue ethics, Acumen Publishing. 2014.
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417Commentary: Who Should Take on the Responsibility of Decisionmaking?Cambridge Quarterly of Healthcare Ethics 19 (3): 413-415. 2010.Should a 9-year-old, severely mentally disabled child undergo extensive operations to limit her growth, prevent development of sexual characteristics, and alter appearance, all in the interests of protecting her from other alleged harms and allowing her to be cared for by her family? I think we should resist engaging with this question, and I think the ethics committee was wrong to accept the burden of making the decision regardless of the outcome they arrived at
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387The good, the bad, and the luckyThe Philosophers' Magazine 55 (55): 77-81. 2011.Even before we come to consider the influence of luck in terms of the results of our actions or the types of situations we come across, luck plays a decisive role in who we fundamentally are.
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386Mothering VirtuesRevista Portuguesa de Filosofia 76 (1): 319-342. 2020.This paper aims to give an introductory account of mothering in light of virtue ethics. Firtly I set out an argument for the use of the term 'mothering' rather than 'parental' virtues. Then I consider what is involved in the mother/child relationship and criticise the idea that the aim of mothering is the flourishing of the child. I argue instead that the proper aim of mothering is to create conditions condusive to the child's flourishing. Finally, I discuss the virtue of patience as applied to …Read more
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360The Role of Research Ethics Committees in Making Decisions About RiskHEC Forum 26 (3): 203-224. 2014.Most medical research and a substantial amount of non-medical research, especially that involving human participants, is governed by some kind of research ethics committee (REC) following the recommendations of the Declaration of Helsinki for the protection of human participants. The role of RECs is usually seen as twofold: firstly, to make some kind of calculation of the risks and benefits of the proposed research, and secondly, to ensure that participants give informed consent. The extent to w…Read more
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340The milgram experiment no one (in philosophy) is talking aboutJournal of Theoretical and Philosophical Psychology 43 (2): 61-75. 2023.
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308Training good professionalsIn Richard E. Ashcroft (ed.), Principles of Health Care Ethics, . 2007.
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256The treatment that leaves something to luckIn Philosophical Reflections on Medical Ethics, Palgrave-macmillan. 2005.
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255Review: Hursthouse Rosalind, Virtue Ethics (review)Ratio 14 (1). 2001.Books reviewed: Rosalind Hursthouse, On Virtue Ethics.
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250Review of Margaret Pabst Battin, Ending Life: Ethics and the Way We Die (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2006 (1). 2006.
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181Review: Love, Friendship and the Self: Intimacy, Identification and the Social Nature – Bennett W. Helm (review)Philosophical Quarterly 61 (244): 662-664. 2011.Review of Love Friendship and the Self - Helm B.W.
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177Review of Michael Slote, Morals From Motives (review)Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews 2002 (3). 2002.
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134Evaluative PerceptionPhilosophical Quarterly 70 (280): 633-636. 2020.Review of Evaluative Perception. By Bergqvist Anna, Cowan Robert.
Nafsika Athanassoulis
Athens College
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Athens CollegeAdministrator
Areas of Specialization
Applied Ethics |
Meta-Ethics |
Normative Ethics |
Areas of Interest
Applied Ethics |
Meta-Ethics |
Normative Ethics |