Joseph H. Kupfer

In Prostitutes, Musicians, and Self-Respect, Joseph H. Kupfer turns a critical eye to the personal virtues and vices that pervade daily life but are easily and frequently overlooked. Unlike public virtues such as courage and patriotism, the personal virtues of humility, generosity, gratitude, and patience do not have particular occasions on which they shine forth and are celebrated, but rather are in continuous use in our interactions with other people and our relationship with ourselves. Kupfer contrasts these personal virtues with the vices of sentimentality, envy, ingratitude, and impatience. At the core of the discussion of personal virtues and vices lies the theme of self-knowledge and self-respect. This intimate conversation of virtues and vices is of interest to scholars and students of ethics, moral psychology, and religion, as well as the general academic reader.

This book addresses a prominent group of virtues and vices as portrayed in popular films to further our understanding of these moral character traits. The discussions emphasize the interplay between the philosophical conception of the virtues and vices and the cinematic representations of character.Joseph H. Kupfer explores how fictional characters possessing certain moral strengths and weaknesses concretize our abstract understanding of them. Because the actions that flow from these traits occur in cinematic contexts mirroring real world conditions, the narrative portrayals of these moral characteristics can further our appreciation of their import. Humility, integrity, and perseverance, for example, are depicted in Chariots of Fire, The Fabulous Baker Boys, and Billy Elliot, while the vices of envy, arrogance and vanity are captured in Amadeus, Whiplash, and Young Adult. This interdisciplinary work in philosophy and film criticism will be of great interest to scholars and students of film studies, philosophy of film, ethics, aesthetics, and popular culture.

This book addresses a prominent group of virtues and vices as portrayed in popular films to further our understanding of these moral character traits. The discussions emphasize the interplay between the philosophical conception of the virtues and vices and the cinematic representations of character.Joseph H. Kupfer explores how fictional characters possessing certain moral strengths and weaknesses concretize our abstract understanding of them. Because the actions that flow from these traits occur in cinematic contexts mirroring real world conditions, the narrative portrayals of these moral characteristics can further our appreciation of their import. Humility, integrity, and perseverance, for example, are depicted in Chariots of Fire, The Fabulous Baker Boys, and Billy Elliot, while the vices of envy, arrogance and vanity are captured in Amadeus, Whiplash, and Young Adult. This interdisciplinary work in philosophy and film criticism will be of great interest to scholars and students of film studies, philosophy of film, ethics, aesthetics, and popular culture.

Popular films can do more than merely entertain us; they can contribute to our understanding of human nature and the ethical theory that informs it. Feminist Ethics in Film explores a varied group of cinematic narratives from the perspective of care-based ethics. The interpersonal relationships they portray disclose important dimensions of care that have been overlooked in less contextualized discussions. In particular, the book examines the relationships between care and community, autonomy, family and self transformation. Interpreting films from the perspective of the feminist ethics of care both expands our knowledge of this burgeoning area of philosophy and adds depth to our appreciation of the films.

Joseph Kupfer removes aesthetics from the exclusive province of museums, concert halls, and the periphery of human interests to reveal the impact of aesthetic experience on daily living. He combines philosophical aesthetics and critical analysis to indicate the status of aesthetic values in ordinary life, showing how aesthetic qualities and relations contribute to social, moral, and personal values. In examining the practical implications of aesthetic values for sports, sexual relationships, violence, and education, Kupfer also looks at the effect of aesthetic deprivation.