Talbot Brewer

Talbot Brewer is an American philosopher and Professor of Philosophy at the University of Virginia. He is known for his works on moral philosophy.[1][2][3][4][5][6] [7] [8][9][10]

Talbot Brewer
EducationHarvard University (PhD), Tufts University (MA)
Era21st-century philosophy
RegionWestern philosophy
SchoolAnalytic
InstitutionsUniversity of Virginia
ThesisCharacter, Desire and Moral Commitment (1998)
Doctoral advisorThomas M. Scanlon
Other academic advisorsChristine Korsgaard
Stanley Cavell
John Rawls
Fred Neuhouser
Richard Moran
Main interests
ethical theory, moral psychology
Notable ideas
dialectical activity

Philosophy

Brewer is known for his idea of "dialectical activity," arguing that contemporary moral philosophy is hindered by a production-oriented conception of human agency and action. He tries to retrieve a different "dialectical" conception of human agency drawing on classical moral philosophy (mainly Aristotle). He believes that our ritual activities show our presence in and to the world. Christopher Cordner provided a criticism of Brewer's idea and argued that this picture of ritual activities is not fully recognised in the dialectical conception of human agency.[11]

Lorraine Besser-Jones argues that Brewer's idea of human agency is incompatible with empirical evidence on motivation and concludes that proposing the good life as a unified dialectical activity is implausible.[12] Mark LeBar describes Brewer's work as saving moral philosophy from "the grip of bad questions and worse answers" and calls it an "ambitious aim."[13]

In her book Aspiration: The Agency of Becoming, Agnes Callard (from the University of Chicago) proposes her aspirational theory of morality and distinguishes it from Brewer's dialectical theory.[14] Jon Garthoff (from the University of Tennessee) proposes a “dynamic approximation” model of virtues based on Brewer’s dialectical idea of virtue acquisition and Rawl's theory of justice. In this model, emphasis and focus on a value gradually enables more engagement with it and more acknowledgement of it.[15] In a paper on teleological hospitality, Melissa Fitzpatrick (from Boston College) provides a critical interpretation of Brewer's work and argues that a crucial component of human flourishing is hospitality towards others.[16] Christopher Bennett (from the University of Sheffield) uses Brewer's idea of dialectical activity to provide an interpretation of Wenders' film Paris, Texas.[17]

Books
  • The Retrieval of Ethics, Oxford University Press 2009. The book is in 481 libraries contributing to WorldCat.[18]
  • The Bounds of Choice: Unchosen Virtues, Unchosen Commitments, Routledge & Kegan Paul 2000 The book is in 131 libraries contributing to WorldCat.[18]

References
  1. "Talbot Brewer". Corcoran Department of Philosophy.
  2. "Talbot Brewer". The Hedgehog Review.
  3. Cokelet, Bradford (2011). "Review of The Retrieval of Ethics". Analysis. 71 (1): 193–195. doi:10.1093/analys/anq098. ISSN 0003-2638. JSTOR 41237296.
  4. Schapiro, Tamar (8 December 2009). "The Retrieval of Ethics". Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews.
  5. Angier, Tom (October 2010). "The Retrieval of Ethics - Talbot Brewer: Book Reviews". The Philosophical Quarterly. 60 (241): 884–886. doi:10.1111/j.1467-9213.2010.673_12.x.
  6. Merritt, Melissa (2018). "Virtue as a Skill". Kant on Reflection and Virtue: 159–183. doi:10.1017/9781108344005.009. ISBN 9781108344005.
  7. Baertschi, Bernard (2010). "Talbot B REWER . The Retrieval of Ethics . Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009. 344 pp". Ethical Perspectives. 17 (1): 134–136.
  8. Carson, Nathan P. "Appreciation: Its Nature and Role in Virtue Ethical Moral Psychology and Dialectical Moral Agency" (PDF). Baylor University.
  9. Carson, Nathan P. (2010). "Review of The Retrieval of Ethics". The Review of Metaphysics. 64 (1): 133–135. ISSN 0034-6632. JSTOR 29765347.
  10. Corbí, Josep E. (2021). "Agency in the Space of Reasons". Corbí, J. E. 2021, 'Agency in the Space of Reasons. A Comment on *The Castle*' in Koblízek, T. And Kotátko, P. *Lessons from Kafka*. Prague: Filosofia, Pp.113-140.
  11. Cordner, Christopher (April 2016). "Dialectical Activity, Ritual, and Value: A Critique of Talbot Brewer: Philosophical Investigations". Philosophical Investigations. 39 (2): 178–191. doi:10.1111/phin.12080.
  12. Besser-Jones, Lorraine (1 January 2011). "Drawn to the Good? Brewer on Dialectical Activity". Journal of Moral Philosophy. 8 (4): 621–631. doi:10.1163/174552411X592194. S2CID 144290108.
  13. LeBar, Mark (1 July 2012). "Talbot Brewer, The Retrieval of Ethics". Ethics. 122 (4): 797–801. doi:10.1086/666535. ISSN 0014-1704.
  14. Callard, Agnes (2018). Aspiration : the agency of becoming. New York, NY. pp. 223–228. ISBN 9780190639488.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
  15. Garthoff, Jon (23 August 2018). "The Dialectical Activity of Becoming Just". Justice. Oxford University Press. 1. doi:10.1093/oso/9780190631741.003.0008.
  16. Fitzpatrick, Melissa (2 March 2021). "7 Teleological Hospitality The Case of Con temporary Virtue Ethics". Radical Hospitality: 88–96. doi:10.1515/9780823294442-008. ISBN 9780823294442. S2CID 233851112.
  17. Bennett, C. (27 June 2021). "Love among the ruins: on the possibility of dialectical activity in Paris, Texas". Angelaki. 27 (5). ISSN 0969-725X.
  18. https://www.worldcat.org/title/bounds-of-choice-unchosen-virtues-unchosen-commitments/oclc/43434771?referer=br&ht=edition
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