Reaction of Others Perhaps More Corrupting than Helpful

Though Taylor in general correctly points out the importance of others as a way of developing and understanding morals, I think she overemphasizes the inability of the proud to see themselves and others. For one thing, if society as a whole is morally corrupt, then perhaps the proud are justified to some degree in being proud of their own morality. Of course, one of the major aspects of Taylor’s arguments are that she’s only talking about those who are vicious-in-extreme, and she might argue that a moral individual in a morally corrupt society is justified and hence not vicious. Still, given that she might find many proud individuals somewhat justified when comparing their morals to that of society, it seems strange that she failed to mention how a defect in society itself could be the primary cause of pride.
In addition, Taylor does not give proper respect to the individual’s ability to self-reflect, and perhaps overemphasizes the importance of the reaction of others. She herself mentions that relying on the reactions of others is a dangerous thing given the fleeting and inconsistent nature of people’s moods and reactions. While the proud might ultimately drown themselves in their own inability to see the truth, and some interaction might ultimately be best, Taylor’s novel concerns primarily vice and not virtue. A clear-seeing individual in a corrupt society might ultimately be better at understanding morality than a generally intelligent and well-meaning individual who decides to also try to be an active member of society. This individual would most likely do things to accommodate himself to society, including modifying his morals to better reflect that of society. This individual might in fact be better off not letting others affect their morality.