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Recommended Reading

On Virtue

News and popular culture is full of discussion points on this subject: Alex Rodriguez, Michael Phelps, Roger Clemens, and other “role model” athletes — do we expect more “virtue” from them than we do other public figures, like politicians? Britney Spears, the octuplet mom, Sarah Palin — what is a “bad mother?” Bernie Madoff and Wall Street — what makes us so blind when we want to be? Do our expectations of “good” individuals change over time or across cultures, or is there a core that is consistently “human?” Where do these values begin? What might change them?



We asked a few faculty members to help us put together a reading list based on these questions, a sort of hypothetical course on the subject. For reading beyond the headlines, here’s a start ... Read More