#822 Christian Miller: The Virtues of Generosity and Patience
Dr. Christian B. Miller is the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University. His research is primarily in contemporary ethics and philosophy of religion. He has written for the Wall Street Journal, Dallas Morning News, Slate, Prospect Magazine, Relevant Magazine, Michael Hyatt Magazine, The Conversation, Newsweek, Aeon, Greater Good Magazine, Nautilus Magazine, Fathom Magazine, Institute of Art and Ideas, and Christianity Today. He’s the author of several books, the most recent one being Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue.
In this episode, we talk about the virtues of generosity and patience. We start with generosity, and discuss the distinction between generous actions, acting from generosity, and being a generous person. We also discuss if generous actions need to be costly, why motivation matters, if the action needs to be freely done, what makes someone a generous person, and how generous we tend to be. We then get into patience, and talk about the importance of goals, time, emotions, and motivation in patience. We also address general questions about the virtues, including what they are really about – character, or the good they bring to other people -; the difference between continence and virtue; and moral and epistemic/intellectual virtues.
Time Links:
Intro
Generosity
Generous actions, acting from generosity, and being a generous person
Do generous actions need to be costly?
Why motivation matters
What if it is about something the recipient does not need?
Does the action need to be freely done?
What makes someone a generous person?
How generous are people?
The virtue of patience
Goals, time, emotions, and motivation in patience
Epistemic patience
Are virtues about character, or about the good they bring to other people?
The difference between continence and virtue
Moral and epistemic/intellectual virtues
Follow Dr. Miller’s work!
Follow Dr. Miller’s work:
Our first interview: https://youtu.be/k_Cr4J7fAbY
Our second interview: https://youtu.be/O747TD4Wx_0
Faculty page: https://bit.ly/3vfpqyY
Website: https://bit.ly/3zAQoE8
PhilPeople page: https://bit.ly/3PYPSVt
Twitter handle: @CharacterGap