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Exemplars, Science, and Transcendence

Exemplars, Science, and Transcendence . James A. Van Slyke, Ph.D Travis Research Institute Fuller Theological Seminary . This research was funded by a grant from the Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences. Exemplars.

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Exemplars, Science, and Transcendence

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  1. Exemplars, Science, and Transcendence James A. Van Slyke, Ph.D Travis Research Institute Fuller Theological Seminary. This research was funded by a grant from the Science and Transcendence Advanced Research Series at the Center for Theology and the Natural Sciences

  2. Exemplars • Wesley Autry • Put his life in jeopardy to save a stranger • Jumped onto subway train tracks to cover a person in danger • Later replied, “I don’t feel like I did something spectacular; I just saw someone who needed help. I did what I felt was right.”

  3. Exemplars • Holocaust Rescuers • Risked their own life to save Jewish persons during the holocaust. • When asked, many rescuers didn’t feel like they did anything extraordinary • They could not of imagined doing anything different

  4. What is a Exemplar? • Common definitions • Someone who embodies certain admirable traits • Serves as a point of reference • By observing an exemplary person, one learns how to exercise a particular trait • For Virtuous exemplars • These persons have characteristics that are essential for the moral life • These persons are examples for how to behave morally

  5. Aristotle and Virtue Ethics • Eudaimonia – happiness or the good life • Virtues are those those aspects of character that lead to a good life • Virtues flow naturally from the character of moral exemplars • Exemplars are persons who have developed certain habits that embody moral virtues

  6. Aristotle and Virtue Ethics • Acquiring virtue is not like other intellectual pursuits • Requires “phronesis” or practical wisdom • Virtues are acquired like the skills of a master craftsman • More of an unconscious process

  7. Contemporary Virtue Ethics: Linda Zagzebski • Exemplars are the starting point for virtue ethics • Concrete example of virtue to begin the development of conceptual definitions • Exemplars are distinguished by their exercise of practical reason or phronesis • Exemplars have the right motive, at the right time

  8. Contemporary Virtue Ethics: Linda Zagzebski • Motives are emotional states that lead to correct moral actions • Each emotion has a thick concept that represents the intentional object of the emotional state • Emotions enable a person to see a situation from a particular moral perspective • Their emotions ready them for action

  9. Contemporary Virtue Ethics: Linda Zagzebski • Emotions form the basic dispositions of a person’s character • Enduring moral traits • Produces reliability and consistency in moral character despite the context • Developmental perspective on acquiring virtue

  10. Exemplars, Moral Cognition and Virtue • 1) Imitation • We imitate the actions of exemplars to enable our own moral growth • 2) Simulation • We simulate the motives of exemplars to have the correct emotion associated with our actions • Developmental process • Changes according to feedback

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