Heroic Virtue and Social Time

• In Event: The Behavior of Pure Sociology: Past and Present

Abstract

Here I examine conquerors, builders, altruists, resisters, and innovators, using Donald Black’s theories of morality to explain why such people are often considered heroes. In Moral Time, Black argued that deviant behavior is so labeled because it is a movement of social time — a change in intimacy, equality, or culture. Conversely, virtuous behavior — such as loyalty, respectfulness, and piety — is so labeled because it preserves intimacy, equality, or culture. Yet Black noted that some of the most virtuous behavior of all is also a movement of social time. This is heroic virtue, the virtue of “those who introduce new ideas or seek to change the course of history” (Black 2011: 157, n. 61). Since extreme praise and condemnation have the same causes, those seen as heroes by some tend to be condemned by others. But why is the morality of some movements of social time so contested? I argue that this occurs when social life is in flux. In that case, those who move social time receive contradictory moral assessments — they are heroes to some and villains to others. If they create lasting social changes, they come to be more widely seen as heroes.

Author

• Bradley K. Campbell, California State University, Los Angeles