Viciousness and the Beautiful Soul: A Critique of McGinn’s Aesthetic Theory of Virtue

Abstract

This paper presents a sustained critique of Colin McGinn’s aesthetic theory of virtue. The critique is twofold. First, I demonstrate that there are a number of theoretical flaws which suggest that McGinn’s theory is unable to properly evaluate racist literature. Then, using the novel Frankenstein, I show that, practically, McGinn’s theory incorrectly evaluates problematically racist characters, such as Victor Frankenstein.