Passionate Ethics. Zest as a Basic Component of the Moral Attitude

The received view on morality underestimates the importance in human life of personal projects and relations and of the personal equalities these projects and relations require. These personal affairs are considered not to belong to the moral field, but turn out to be sometimes more important than moral ideals. In order to avoid a lack of integration of moral considerations (narrowly conceived) and more personal considerations, it is my proposal to broaden our view on morality. As supplementary to the principles of consequentialism and Kantian ethics, we should cherish some virtues that are irreducible to maximally promoting well-being (consequentialism) and to honouring unconditionally each person (Kantian ethics) and that account for the importance of personal affairs. The most important of them is the virtue of zest, which is a basic enthusiasm or love for the common activities and experiences constituting human life.