Developing a virtue ethics inspired by moral sentimentalism, this book argues that a reconfigured and expanded 'morality of caring' can offer a general account of right and wrong action and also of social justice. It also shows how a motive-based 'pure' virtue theory can also help understand the nature of human well-being and practical reason.

PART I: MORALITY AND JUSTICE ONE: Agent-Based Virtue Ethics 1: Virtue Ethics 2: Objections to Agent-Basing 3: Morality as Inner Strength 4: Morality as Universal Benevolence 5: Morality as Caring and Further Aspects of Agent-Basing TWO: Morality and the Practical 1: Is Agent-basing Practical? 2: The Value of Conscientousness 3: Moral Conflict THREE: The Structure of Caring 1: Caring and Love 2: Balanced Caring 3: Balanced Caring versus Aggregative Partialism 4: Self-Concern 5: Sentimentalist Deontology 6: Caring versus the Philosophers FOUR: The Justice of Caring 1: From the Personal to the Political 2: Social Justice 3: Laws and Their Applications 4: Conclusion FIVE: Universal Benevolence versus Caring 1: Universal Benevolence and Universal Love 2: The Justice of Universal Benevolence 3: Humanitarianism and Religious Belief 4: Humanitarianism and Intolerance 5: The Choice between Caring and Universal Benevolence PART II: PRACTICAL RATIONALITY AND HUMAN GOOD SIX: The Virtue in Self-Interest 1: Unification in Utilitarianism 2: Elevation versus Reduction 3: Is Elevation Viable? 4: Aristotelian Elevationism 5: Platonic Elevationism 6: Conclusion SEVEN: Agent-Based Practical Reason 1: Conceptions of Practical Reason 2: Agent-Based Rationality 3: Practical Reason and Self-Interest 4: The Rational Requiements of Morality 5: Conclusion EIGHT: Extending the Approach 1: Hyper-Agent-Basing 2: General Conclusion Index

"The purest and most interesting virtue-ethical theory yet developed. The publication of this book should change the way virtue ethics is understood."--Thomas Hurka, University of Toronto "[Slote's] project is an attractively shaped one. It is also ambitious, encompassing discussions of political morality and practical rationality."--Times Literary Supplement, November 22, 2002 "The purest and most interesting virtue-ethical theory yet developed. The publication of this book should change the way virtue ethics is understood."--Thomas Hurka, University of Toronto "[Slote's] project is an attractively shaped one. It is also ambitious, encompassing discussions of political morality and practical rationality."--Times Literary Supplement, November 22, 2002