Hume, Halos, and Rough Heroes: Moral and Aesthetic Defects in Works of Fiction

Under review are Anne Eaton's robust immoralism and Noël Carroll's moderate moralism. Their differences of opinion have historical antecedents dating back to the work of David Hume. With the supporters of robust immoralism, I maintain here that that fictions valorizing so-called rough heroes, to whom both positive and negative moral attributes are ascribed, can arouse reactions as aesthetically compelling as they are morally troubling. However, I will concur with the moderate moralists in claiming that the troubling moral reaction targeted need not be a sufficient ground for attributing a moral flaw to the work itself.