ABSTRACT
Although cheerfulness was one of Hume’s favorite virtues, recent ethicists have ignored it. The chapter begins with an analysis of the trait of cheerfulness, which is a disposition to feel cheer (gladness, mirth, enjoyment, delight, amusement, etc.) even in challenging circumstances. So described, the trait is not a virtue since it could reflect naivete or a tendency to ignore life’s difficulties. To address these worries, I go on to explore what is distinctive about the forms of cheerfulness we admire and why we might consider the trait a virtue. The chapter closes by arguing that the virtue of cheerfulness gives us reason to question accounts – like those put forward by Iris Murdoch, John McDowell, and Bridget Clarke – that take virtues to be forms of sensitivity to goodness or requirement.
