The Theory and Practice of Virtue (Revisions: A Series of Books on Ethics) - Hardcover

Meilaender, Gilbert C.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0268018529 ISBN 13: 9780268018528

Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press, 1984

Synopsis

Many students of philosophical and theological ethics have recently experienced a renewed interest in what may be called an ethic of virtue. Such an ethic focuses less on the concept of duty―or doing―and more on being. Central to an ethic of virtue is a division of moral life that emphasizes character and character development or moral education. The Theory and Practice of Virtue presents a series of connected essays―drawing on the thoughts of such diverse figures as Josef Pieper, Plato Lawrence Kohlberg, and Martin Luther―which explore theories of virtue and the practical task of being virtuous. Meilaender follows his consideration of the conceptual difficulties of moral education with a discussion of the practical problems and dangers of attempting to teach virtue, and more generally, of the problems of observing an ethic which emphasizes virtue within a theology that emphasizes grace. Chapters devoted to particular virtues and vices―the vice of curiosity and the virtue of gratitude―explicitly illustrate the book's central thematic concerns.

About this title

About the Author:

Gilbert Meilaender holds the Phyllis and Richard Duesenberg Chair in Christian Ethics at Valparaiso University, Indiana.

Review:

[This] is a study in which Christian moral tradition, classical philosophical insights, and contemporary intellectual concerns are blended into a coherent whole. . . . In my judgment the best single chapter in the book is the first: 'Thinking about virtue.' For persons unfamiliar with the virtue perspective on ethics this is a lucid and persuasive exploration of the role of virtue in conceiving what morality is all about. It would be particularly useful in a beginning class on religious ethics." (Journal of Religious Ethics)

About this edition

• Publisher: University of Notre Dame Press
• Publication date: 1984
• ISBN 10: 0268018529
• ISBN 13: 9780268018528
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 204