It is widely accepted that virtuous behaviour ought to be motivated in the right way, done for the right reasons, and an appropriate response to the values manifested in a situation. In this article I describe how cases of individuals having poor understanding of the reasons for their behaviour, can nevertheless be conducive to the development of virtue. One way in which giving reasons for one's own behaviour can be inaccurate is when the reasons given are confabulatory. In confabulation, the reasons given for behaviour are post hoc, do not capture factors which actually brought the behaviour in question about, and are not well supported by evidence. Confabulations protect an individual's positive self-representations at the expense of more accurate appraisals of themselves and the circumstances. However, I argue that engaging in the construction of a positive self-narrative can be efficacious in making it a reality. Importantly, this is only possible when agents have the know-how of certain self-relational skills and attitudes, which are captured in a meta-virtue of self-regulation. When individuals can regulate their values and their behaviour effectively, such that they are in keeping, they can ultimately consistently embody virtues. Confabulation can be, and probably often is, part of this process.

中文翻译：

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德行的诀窍

人们普遍认为，美德行为应该以正确的方式激发，出于正确的理由，并对某种情况下体现的价值观做出适当的反应。在这篇文章中，我描述了个人对其行为原因缺乏了解的情况如何有利于美德的发展。为自己的行为给出理由可能不准确的一种情况是所给出的理由是虚构的。在闲聊中，给出的行为原因是事后的，没有捕捉到实际导致相关行为的因素，并且没有证据充分支持。虚构会保护个人积极的自我表达，但牺牲了对自己和环境的更准确的评估。然而，我认为构建积极的自我叙事可以有效地将其变为现实。重要的是，只有当代理人掌握某些自我关系技能和态度的专业知识时，这才有可能实现，而这些技能和态度都体现在自我调节的元美德中。当个人能够有效地规范自己的价值观和行为并保持一致时，他们最终就能始终如一地体现美德。虚构可以而且可能经常是这个过程的一部分。