Are there key respects in which character and character defects are
voluntary? Can agents with serious vices be rational agents?
Jonathan Jacobs answers in the affirmative. Moral character is
shaped through voluntary habits, including the ways we habituate
ourselves, Jacobs believes. Just as individuals can voluntarily
lead unhappy lives without making unhappiness an end, so can they
degrade their ethical characters through voluntary action that does
not have establishment of vice as its end. Choosing Character
presents an account of ethical disability, expanding the domain of
responsibility and explicating the role of character in ethical
cognition.
Jacobs contends that agents become ethically disabled
voluntarily when their habits impair their ability to properly
appreciate ethical considerations. Such agents are rational,
responsible individuals who are yet incapable of virtuous action.
The view develops and modifies Aristotelian claims concerning the
fixity of character. Jacobs' interpretation is developed in
contrast to the overlooked work of Maimonides, who also used
Aristotelian resources but argued for the possibility of character
change. The notion of ethical disability has profound ramifications
for ethics and for current debates about blame and punishment.
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