{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,3,23]],"date-time":"2026-03-23T22:51:44Z","timestamp":1774306304409,"version":"3.50.1"},"reference-count":17,"publisher":"Springer Science and Business Media LLC","issue":"4","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,18]],"date-time":"2021-07-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1626566400000},"content-version":"tdm","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"},{"start":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,18]],"date-time":"2021-07-18T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1626566400000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by\/4.0"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/501100003065","name":"University of Vienna","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","id":[{"id":"10.13039\/501100003065","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"crossref"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["link.springer.com"],"crossmark-restriction":false},"short-container-title":["Ethics Inf Technol"],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]},"abstract":"<jats:title>Abstract<\/jats:title><jats:p>Does cruel behavior towards robots lead to vice, whereas kind behavior does not lead to virtue? This paper presents a critical response to Sparrow\u2019s argument that there is an asymmetry in the way we (should) think about virtue and robots. It discusses how much we should praise virtue as opposed to vice, how virtue relates to practical knowledge and wisdom, how much illusion is needed for it to be a barrier to virtue, the relation between virtue and consequences, the moral relevance of the reality requirement and the different ways one can deal with it, the risk of anthropocentric bias in this discussion, and the underlying epistemological assumptions and political questions. This response is not only relevant to Sparrow\u2019s argument or to robot ethics but also touches upon central issues in virtue ethics.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1007\/s10676-021-09604-z","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,18]],"date-time":"2021-07-18T07:02:32Z","timestamp":1626591752000},"page":"649-656","update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/springer_crossmark_policy","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":6,"title":["Does kindness towards robots lead to virtue? A reply to Sparrow\u2019s asymmetry argument"],"prefix":"10.1007","volume":"23","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-9576-1002","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Mark","family":"Coeckelbergh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[]}],"member":"297","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,18]]},"reference":[{"key":"9604_CR1","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"227","DOI":"10.1080\/09672559508570812","volume":"3","author":"J Annas","year":"2008","unstructured":"Annas, J. (2008). Virtue as a skill. International Journal of Philosophical Studies, 3, 227\u2013243.","journal-title":"International Journal of Philosophical Studies"},{"key":"9604_CR2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"9","DOI":"10.1007\/s13347-019-0341-y","volume":"33","author":"ML Cappuccio","year":"2020","unstructured":"Cappuccio, M. L., Peeters, A., & McDonald, W. (2020). Sympathy for dolores: Moral consideration for robots based on virtue and recognition. Philosophy & Technology, 33, 9\u201331.","journal-title":"Philosophy & Technology"},{"key":"9604_CR3","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"1381","DOI":"10.1007\/s11406-020-00179-5","volume":"48","author":"D Carr","year":"2020","unstructured":"Carr, D. (2020). Knowledge and truth in virtuous deliberation. Philosophia, 48, 1381\u20131396.","journal-title":"Philosophia"},{"issue":"1","key":"9604_CR4","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1007\/s00146-010-0289-z","volume":"26","author":"M Coeckelbergh","year":"2011","unstructured":"Coeckelbergh, M. (2011). \u2018You, robot: on the linguistic construction of artificial others. AI & Society, 26(1), 61\u201369.","journal-title":"AI & Society"},{"key":"9604_CR5","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1057\/9781137025968","volume-title":"Growing moral relations: Critique of moral status ascription","author":"M Coeckelbergh","year":"2012","unstructured":"Coeckelbergh, M. (2012a). Growing moral relations: Critique of moral status ascription. Palgrave Macmillan."},{"key":"9604_CR6","first-page":"281","volume-title":"The good life in a technological age","author":"M Coeckelbergh","year":"2012","unstructured":"Coeckelbergh, M. (2012b). Care robots, virtual virtue, and the best possible life. In P. Brey, A. Briggle, & E. Spence (Eds.), The good life in a technological age (pp. 281\u2013292). Routledge."},{"key":"9604_CR7","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"61","DOI":"10.1007\/s13347-013-0133-8","volume":"27","author":"M Coeckelbergh","year":"2014","unstructured":"Coeckelbergh, M. (2014). The moral standing of machines: Towards relational and non-Cartesian moral hermeneutics. Philosophy & Technology, 27, 61\u201377.","journal-title":"Philosophy & Technology"},{"key":"9604_CR8","first-page":"7","volume-title":"What social robots can and should do","author":"M Coeckelbergh","year":"2016","unstructured":"Coeckelbergh, M. (2016). Is it wrong to kick a robot? Towards a relational and critical robot ethics and beyond. In J. Seibt, M. N\u00f8rskov, & S. S. Andersen (Eds.), What social robots can and should do (pp. 7\u20138). IOS Press."},{"key":"9604_CR9","volume-title":"Robot Ethics 2.0","author":"K Darling","year":"2017","unstructured":"Darling, K. (2017). \u2018Who\u2019s Johnny? Anthropomorphic framing in human-robot interaction, integration, and policy. In P. Lin, G. Bekey, K. Abney, & R. Jenkins (Eds.), Robot Ethics 2.0. Oxford University Press."},{"key":"9604_CR10","unstructured":"Foucault, M. (1980). Trans. C. Gordon & L. Marshall, Power\/knowledge. Pantheon Books."},{"key":"9604_CR11","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s00146-020-00977-1","author":"P Gamez","year":"2020","unstructured":"Gamez, P., Shank, D. B., Arnold, C., & North, M. (2020). Artificial virtue: The machine question and perceptions of moral character in artificial moral agents. AI & Society. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s00146-020-00977-1","journal-title":"AI & Society"},{"key":"9604_CR12","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"87","DOI":"10.1007\/s10676-017-9442-4","volume":"20","author":"D Gunkel","year":"2018","unstructured":"Gunkel, D. (2018). The other question: Can and should robots have rights? Ethics and Information Technology, 20, 87\u201399.","journal-title":"Ethics and Information Technology"},{"key":"9604_CR13","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Kant, I. (1996), Heath P & Schneewind JB (Eds.), Lectures on ethics. Cambridge University Press.","DOI":"10.1017\/CBO9781107049512"},{"key":"9604_CR14","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"277","DOI":"10.1023\/A:1013802119431","volume":"3","author":"M McCormick","year":"2001","unstructured":"McCormick, M. (2001). Is it wrong to play violent video games? Ethics and Information Technology, 3, 277\u2013287.","journal-title":"Ethics and Information Technology"},{"key":"9604_CR15","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"83","DOI":"10.5840\/msp1995206","volume":"20","author":"M Slote","year":"1995","unstructured":"Slote, M. (1995). Agent-based virtue ethics. Midwest Studies in Philosophy, 20, 83\u2013101.","journal-title":"Midwest Studies in Philosophy"},{"issue":"4","key":"9604_CR16","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","first-page":"465","DOI":"10.1007\/s12369-017-0413-z","volume":"9","author":"R Sparrow","year":"2017","unstructured":"Sparrow, R. (2017). Robots, rape and representation. International Journal of Social Robotics, 9(4), 465\u2013477.","journal-title":"International Journal of Social Robotics"},{"key":"9604_CR17","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s12369-020-00631-2","author":"R Sparrow","year":"2020","unstructured":"Sparrow, R. (2020). Virtue and vice in our relationships with robots: Is there an asymmetry and how might it be explained? International Journal of Social Robotics. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s12369-020-00631-2","journal-title":"International Journal of Social Robotics"}],"container-title":["Ethics and Information Technology"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s10676-021-09604-z.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/article\/10.1007\/s10676-021-09604-z\/fulltext.html","content-type":"text\/html","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"text-mining"},{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/content\/pdf\/10.1007\/s10676-021-09604-z.pdf","content-type":"application\/pdf","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2021,12,6]],"date-time":"2021-12-06T05:09:23Z","timestamp":1638767363000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/link.springer.com\/10.1007\/s10676-021-09604-z"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,18]]},"references-count":17,"journal-issue":{"issue":"4","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2021,12]]}},"alternative-id":["9604"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1007\/s10676-021-09604-z","relation":{},"ISSN":["1388-1957","1572-8439"],"issn-type":[{"value":"1388-1957","type":"print"},{"value":"1572-8439","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2021,7,18]]},"assertion":[{"value":"21 June 2021","order":1,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}},{"value":"18 July 2021","order":2,"name":"first_online","label":"First Online","group":{"name":"ArticleHistory","label":"Article History"}}]}}