Aristotle Visits Psychology

Reviews the book Virtue and Psychology: Pursuing Excellence in Ordinary Practices by Blaine J. Fowers (see record 2005-06774-000). The first task in the review of Fowers's book is to situate him and his book with respect to the contemporary psychology scene. There are two points about this positioning: (a) the hermeneutic background of Fowers and (b) his usage primarily of Aristotle's (trans. 1998) The Nicomachean Ethics in relating virtue ethics to psychology, which is the focus of his book. Both the hermeneutics and the Aristotelian discourse on ethics are philosophical sources. In his book, Fowers affirms his “fascination” (p. xi) with hermeneutics. Fowers, a specialist in marriage counseling, has brought the hermeneutic approach to the current understanding of marriage and the unfortunate implications of that understanding for the marital relationship. In my review, I first address virtue ethics as Fowers presents it, his strong and very good critiques of the American cultural ethics that impacts psychology, and the issue of character and personality. The issue of character and personality is grave, and there are seriously disparate views on it. Second, I examine features of “practical wisdom in psychology,” which is presented in Part 2 of the text. This part of the book stirs less heat under examination. Last, I present concluding comments. Fowers is strong in his presentation; the strength is evidence of his strong convictions with respect to virtue ethics and its relevance to psychology. The section on “character,” especially Aristotle's four character types, requires clarification if there is to be liaison with the empirically oriented mission of psychology. My overall judgment is that Virtue and Psychology is a very worthy book and a contribution to the conversation between psychology and philosophy. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2006 APA, all rights reserved)