Emulating Mary Poppins? A Critical Review of the Figure of the Saint in Zagzebski’s Exemplarist Moral Theory

This paper critically examines the figure of the saint in Linda Zagzebski’s exemplarist moral theory and identifies several problems with her conceptualization. While Zagzebski presents saints as moral exemplars primarily characterized by charity, her account leaves unresolved issues: saints appear...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autor: Corrales Trillo, Bosco
Formato: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2025
País:España
Recursos:Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir
Repositorio:RIUCV. Repositorio de la Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:riucv.ucv.es:20.500.12466/6752
Acesso em linha:https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12466/6752
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palavra-chave:Linda Zagzebski
Exemplarist moral theory
Moral saints
Virtue ethics
Emulation
Spirituality
7203 Filosofía General
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spelling Emulating Mary Poppins? A Critical Review of the Figure of the Saint in Zagzebski’s Exemplarist Moral TheoryCorrales Trillo, BoscoLinda ZagzebskiExemplarist moral theoryMoral saintsVirtue ethicsEmulationSpirituality7203 Filosofía GeneralThis paper critically examines the figure of the saint in Linda Zagzebski’s exemplarist moral theory and identifies several problems with her conceptualization. While Zagzebski presents saints as moral exemplars primarily characterized by charity, her account leaves unresolved issues: saints appear unrealistically idealized, flaws seem excluded from sainthood, the mechanism for emotional emulation remains unclear, and the approach risks promoting elitism and excessive self-reliance. I argue that these problems stem from an underdeveloped account of the saint’s spirituality. Drawing on Christian theological traditions, particularly Aquinas’s understanding of grace, and close narrative analysis of saintly lives such as that of St. Francis of Assisi, I propose that saints be understood primarily through their spiritual relationship with the divine, rather than through their moral excellence. While maintaining the exemplary role of saints, this reframing avoids perfectionism, accommodates moral flaws, and can render emotional emulation more psychologically and ethically feasible. While this spiritual grounding may limit the applicability of exemplarism to secular contexts, it reveals that sainthood is not about being “practically perfect in every way” but about participating in a spiritual life that transforms the moral self. This reconceptualization suggests broader implications for virtue ethics, indicating that emulation must account for an exemplar’s inner spiritual architecture. Furthermore, this analysis points to the importance of understanding exemplars within their proper cultural contexts.20252025-10-1320252025-08-0120252025-08-01journal articlehttp://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501VoRhttp://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85info:eu-repo/semantics/articleapplication/pdfhttps://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12466/6752reponame:RIUCV. Repositorio de la Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártirinstname:Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente MártirInglésengopen accesshttp://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 Internationalhttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccessoai:riucv.ucv.es:20.500.12466/67522026-06-19T08:32:07Z
dc.title.none.fl_str_mv Emulating Mary Poppins? A Critical Review of the Figure of the Saint in Zagzebski’s Exemplarist Moral Theory
title Emulating Mary Poppins? A Critical Review of the Figure of the Saint in Zagzebski’s Exemplarist Moral Theory
spellingShingle Emulating Mary Poppins? A Critical Review of the Figure of the Saint in Zagzebski’s Exemplarist Moral Theory
Corrales Trillo, Bosco
Linda Zagzebski
Exemplarist moral theory
Moral saints
Virtue ethics
Emulation
Spirituality
7203 Filosofía General
title_short Emulating Mary Poppins? A Critical Review of the Figure of the Saint in Zagzebski’s Exemplarist Moral Theory
title_full Emulating Mary Poppins? A Critical Review of the Figure of the Saint in Zagzebski’s Exemplarist Moral Theory
title_fullStr Emulating Mary Poppins? A Critical Review of the Figure of the Saint in Zagzebski’s Exemplarist Moral Theory
title_full_unstemmed Emulating Mary Poppins? A Critical Review of the Figure of the Saint in Zagzebski’s Exemplarist Moral Theory
title_sort Emulating Mary Poppins? A Critical Review of the Figure of the Saint in Zagzebski’s Exemplarist Moral Theory
dc.creator.none.fl_str_mv Corrales Trillo, Bosco
author Corrales Trillo, Bosco
author_facet Corrales Trillo, Bosco
author_role author
dc.contributor.none.fl_str_mv
dc.subject.none.fl_str_mv Linda Zagzebski
Exemplarist moral theory
Moral saints
Virtue ethics
Emulation
Spirituality
7203 Filosofía General
topic Linda Zagzebski
Exemplarist moral theory
Moral saints
Virtue ethics
Emulation
Spirituality
7203 Filosofía General
description This paper critically examines the figure of the saint in Linda Zagzebski’s exemplarist moral theory and identifies several problems with her conceptualization. While Zagzebski presents saints as moral exemplars primarily characterized by charity, her account leaves unresolved issues: saints appear unrealistically idealized, flaws seem excluded from sainthood, the mechanism for emotional emulation remains unclear, and the approach risks promoting elitism and excessive self-reliance. I argue that these problems stem from an underdeveloped account of the saint’s spirituality. Drawing on Christian theological traditions, particularly Aquinas’s understanding of grace, and close narrative analysis of saintly lives such as that of St. Francis of Assisi, I propose that saints be understood primarily through their spiritual relationship with the divine, rather than through their moral excellence. While maintaining the exemplary role of saints, this reframing avoids perfectionism, accommodates moral flaws, and can render emotional emulation more psychologically and ethically feasible. While this spiritual grounding may limit the applicability of exemplarism to secular contexts, it reveals that sainthood is not about being “practically perfect in every way” but about participating in a spiritual life that transforms the moral self. This reconceptualization suggests broader implications for virtue ethics, indicating that emulation must account for an exemplar’s inner spiritual architecture. Furthermore, this analysis points to the importance of understanding exemplars within their proper cultural contexts.
publishDate 2025
dc.date.none.fl_str_mv 2025
2025-10-13
2025
2025-08-01
2025
2025-08-01
dc.type.none.fl_str_mv journal article
http://purl.org/coar/resource_type/c_6501
VoR
http://purl.org/coar/version/c_970fb48d4fbd8a85
dc.type.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/article
format article
dc.identifier.none.fl_str_mv https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12466/6752
url https://hdl.handle.net/20.500.12466/6752
dc.language.none.fl_str_mv Inglés
eng
language_invalid_str_mv Inglés
language eng
dc.rights.none.fl_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
dc.rights.openaire.fl_str_mv info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
rights_invalid_str_mv open access
http://purl.org/coar/access_right/c_abf2
Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International
http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/
eu_rights_str_mv openAccess
dc.format.none.fl_str_mv application/pdf
dc.source.none.fl_str_mv reponame:RIUCV. Repositorio de la Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir
instname:Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir
instname_str Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir
reponame_str RIUCV. Repositorio de la Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir
collection RIUCV. Repositorio de la Universidad Católica de Valencia San Vicente Mártir
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