Temperance and the Second-Person Perspective

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.v12i3.3408

Keywords:

Temperance, Second person, Relational virtues

Abstract

The virtue of temperance with respect to food and drink is often assumed to be relatively straightforward, a matter of steering a mean between excess and deficiency. Given also that humans share the need to eat and drink with non-human animals, this topic might therefore seem promising to explore for possible connections between evolutionary research on morality and theological ethics. In this paper, however, I argue that many aspects of temperance go far beyond the Aristotelian account and can be understood principally as reflecting the fact that human beings are embodied relational persons. This second-person account can indeed be connected to theological ethics, but it is also one that draws principally from the discontinuities of human and non-human behaviour.

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Published

2020-09-24

How to Cite

Pinsent, Andrew. 2020. “Temperance and the Second-Person Perspective”. European Journal for Philosophy of Religion 12 (3):101-15. https://doi.org/10.24204/ejpr.v12i3.3408.

Issue

Section

Special Issue - Evolutionary Research on Morality and Theological Ethics