Characters and Roles

Abstract

For 21st century ethicists, one’s character is thought to be a matter of one’s internal dispositions and their external manifestation in action. This assumption, which is universally accepted among contemporary authors, would not have been shared by 18th century writers. Alongside one’s internal dispositions, Butler, Hutcheson, Hume, and their peers also considered one’s social roles to be part of one’s character. This paper outlines the attractions of the earlier conception of character and responds to objections that must be faced by any account that includes social roles among character’s ingredients.