The Virtues of Our Vices: A Modest Defense of Gossip, Rudeness, and Other Bad Habits
They are not deadly sins. Nonetheless, many of us scorn rudeness, gossip, and snobbery. And we withhold respect from people who tell sick jokes or advance groundless opinions. Westacott asks tough questions about the nature and meaning of these "bad habits.'' . . . His book is accessible, rigorous, and droll.  - The Boston GlobeWestacott (philosophy, Alfred Univ.; coauthor, Thinking Through Philosophy: An Introduction) analyzes four practices usually taken to be bad: rudeness, gossip, snobbery, and telling sick jokes. In addition to these, he discusses one practice usually regarded as good: respecting the opinions of others. For each of his practices, Westacott claims that we are too apt to invoke fixed rules that either forbid outright the practices we take to be bad or require the behavior we deem good. Writing from a broadly utilitarian standpoint rather than for specialists, Westacott thinks that consideration of particular examples will result in a more nuanced approach. Sometimes, e.g., rudeness is morally acceptable, as when it is an appropriate way to make a moral statement about a deplored convention. Gossip may often serve useful functions such as satisfying curiosity and counteracting secrecy. Respect is not always required, either: some opinions deserve our contempt. Westacott by no means wishes to claim that there are no good reasons for the standard verdicts on the practices he considers. Rather, he aims to show that particular situations often resist fixed rules. VERDICT General readers interested in how philosophy can be applied to daily life will gain much from this well-written book.—David Gordon, Bowling Green State Univ., OHLibrary Journal"You  will enjoy reading 'Virtues' whether your interest is academic or  practical, business or politics, persuasion or argument, interpersonal  or group communication." New York Journal of Books"an intriguing, courageous and timely book" (3:AM Magazine)