The Subject of Virtue
An Anthropology of Ethics and Freedom

A clearly written, sophisticated summary of and prospectus for a flourishing current field of anthropological research.

James Laidlaw (Author)

9781107028463, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 24 October 2013

270 pages
22.9 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.53 kg

'This is the kind of game-changing book we have been waiting for in the anthropology of ethics. Theoretically astute, philosophically wide-ranging, and dazzling in its use of ethnographic materials, all intellectually ambitious anthropologists will want to read it. And philosophers who have made great efforts recently to render their arguments psychologically realistic now have a perfect place to turn to begin to engage the social aspects of their subject matter with equal care.' Joel Robbins, University of California, San Diego

The anthropology of ethics has become an important and fast-growing field in recent years. This book argues that it represents not just a new subfield within anthropology but a conceptual renewal of the discipline as a whole, enabling it to take account of a major dimension of human conduct which social theory has so far failed adequately to address. An ideal introduction for students and researchers in anthropology and related human sciences. • Shows how ethical concepts such as virtue, character, freedom and responsibility may be incorporated into anthropological analysis • Surveys the history of anthropology's engagement with morality • Examines the relevance for anthropology of two major philosophical approaches to moral life.

1. Beyond the science of unfreedom
2. Virtue ethics: philosophy with an ethnographic stance?
3. Foucault's genealogy and the undefined work of freedom
4. The 'question of freedom' in anthropology
5. Taking responsibility seriously
6. Endnote: the reluctant cannibal.

Subject Areas: Social & cultural anthropology, ethnography [JHMC], Anthropology [JHM], Ethics & moral philosophy [HPQ]