In Self-Constitution, I argue that the principles governing action are “constitutive standards” of agency, standards that arise from the nature of agency itself. To be an agent is to be autonomously efficacious, and the categorical and hypothetical imperatives arise from those two attributes. These principles are also “constitutive” of agency in two more specific ways. First, they meet the “constitution requirement”: the object must meet the standard in question, at least to some extent, in order to be the kind of object that it is. Second, they meet the “self-constitution requirement”: the object makes itself into the kind of object that it is by conforming to the standard. That is, the agent makes herself into an agent, and into the particular agent who she is, by conforming to those standards. Some neo-Aristotelians believe that Aristotelian virtues are constitutive standards. In this paper, I first ask why moral philosophers should focus on the virtues at all, considering the views of David Hume, Philippa Foot, and Aristotle. I then ask whether Aristotelian virtues meet the constitution requirement, and suggest that there are grounds for this view in the Nicomachean Ethics. But Aristotelian virtues do not meet the self-constitution requirement, which leaves Aristotle unable to explain moral responsibility. I end by examining the role that Aristotelian virtues could play in a Kantian ethic.

中文翻译：

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宪政与美德

在《自我宪法》中，我认为控制行为的原则是代理机构的“构成标准”，这些标准源于代理机构本身的性质。成为代理人将具有自主效力，而这两个属性就产生了绝对的和假设的要求。这些原则在两种更具体的方式上也是代理的“构成”。首先，它们满足“宪法要求”：客体必须至少在某种程度上满足有关标准，才能成为其真实的客体。其次，它们满足“自我建构的要求”：通过符合标准，对象使自己成为它所属于的对象。就是说，通过遵循这些标准，代理使自己成为代理，并且使她成为特定的代理。一些新亚里士多德主义者认为亚里士多德的美德是构成标准。在本文中，我首先问道，为什么道德哲学家应该考虑戴维·休ume，菲利帕·富特和亚里斯多德的观点，而根本只关注美德。然后，我问亚里士多德的美德是否符合宪法的要求，并提出尼科马奇伦理学中有这种观点的依据。但是亚里士多德的美德不能满足自我宪法的要求，这使亚里士多德无法解释道德责任。最后，我考察了亚里士多德的美德在康德伦理中的作用。然后，我问亚里士多德的美德是否符合宪法的要求，并提出尼科马奇伦理学中有这种观点的依据。但是亚里士多德的美德不能满足自我宪法的要求，这使亚里士多德无法解释道德责任。最后，我考察了亚里士多德的美德在康德伦理中的作用。然后，我问亚里士多德的美德是否符合宪法的要求，并提出尼科马奇伦理学中有这种观点的依据。但是亚里士多德的美德不能满足自我宪法的要求，这使亚里士多德无法解释道德责任。最后，我考察了亚里士多德的美德在康德伦理中的作用。