ABSTRACT
Why is a discussion of virtues and vices and the conflicts between them important in a book that is primarily concerned with trying to understand and respond to the present world situation, in a time of terror, particularly in its religious and political dimensions? Part of the answer should be that there is already a vigorous debate about virtues and vices taking place, with the American neoconservative thinker, Robert D. Kaplan, writing a book, Warrior Politics: Why Leadership Demands a Pagan Ethos,1 in which he argues that the traditional Judaeo-Christian understanding and practice of virtue is enervating in the public sphere, and makes effective political leadership and military action in times of crisis impossible. Hence, in the present situation, he argues that we should return to the old heroic pagan virtues of the ancient world, and their modern presentation by such as Machiavelli, if we are to hope to achieve anything effective in a time of terror.
