October 26, 2026
Virtue is a concept that spans time and geography. From ancient civilizations East and West to modern nation-states, humans have formed societies and established ideas about acceptable ways to interact within those structures. Understanding these moral constructs and how they are formed is the subject of Philosophy and the Evolution of Virtue and Vice, a newly published book by Elliot Assistant Professor of Philosophy Michael Dale.
“Important questions such as why we value honesty, courage, or respect for authority, and how these virtues support cooperative living, are central to understanding the importance of being good citizens,” Dale says. “So, virtue ethics is arguably the most important ethical theory for Hampden-Sydney because it looks to understand how to become a good man, how to develop character, and how to choose informed actions that lead us to that.”
Dale, whose research centers on the psychology of morality and how it has evolved, authored and edited the book alongside Texas State Professor Issac Weigman. The book also includes contributions from 13 other philosophers and researchers from across the country, delving deeply into how human evolutionary needs shape morality and vice.
The book, which is published by Routledge, is available through the publisher’s website and online retailers in hardcover and Kindle editions. A copy is also available in Bortz Library.
While publishing his first book is a significant milestone, Dale has notably contributed to academic journals such as Springer Nature, recently releasing several papers on ethics, morality, and evolution in relation to technology. He is looking to build on these accomplishments with future research endeavors. He hopes Philosophy and the Evolution of Virtue and Vice will serve as a useful resource for students and scholars, inspiring discussions in academia and beyond around how we navigate questions of ethics in an ever-changing world.