This book argues that the question posed by virtue theories, namely, “what kind of person should I be?” provides a more promising approach to moral questions than do either deontological or consequentialist moral theories where the concern is with what actions are morally required or permissible. It does so both by arguing that there are firmer theoretical foundations for virtue theories, and by persuasively suggesting the superiority of virtue theories over deontological and consquentialist theories on the question of explaining morally bad behavior. Virtue theories can give a richer account by appealing to the kinds of dispositions that make certain bad choices appear attractive. This richer account also exposes a further advantage of virtue theories: they provide the best kinds of motivations for agents to become better persons.

For many years this has been a leading textbook of bioethics. It established the framework of principles within the field. This is a very thorough revision with a new chapter on methods and moral justification.

Despite the growing interest among philosophers and theologians in virtue ethics, its proponents have done little to suggest why Christians in particular find virtue ethics attractive. Joseph J. Kotva, Jr., addresses this question in The Christian Case for Virtue Ethics, showing that virtue theory offers an ethical framework that is highly compatible with Christian morality. Kotva defines virtue ethics and demonstrates its ability to voice Christian convictions about how to live the moral life. He evaluates virtue theory in light of systematic theology and Scripture, arguing that Christian ethics could be profitably linked with neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics. Ecumenical in tone, this book provides a thorough but accessible introduction to recent philosophical accounts of virtue and offers an original, explicitly Christian adaptation of these ideas. It will be of value to students and scholars of philosophy, theology, and religion, as well as to those interested in the debates surrounding virtue ethics.

Provides a theologically substantive yet accessible overview of moral theology grounded in the Catholic tradition that is also illuminative to non-Catholic Christians.

The thesis of this book is that virtue ethics is key to understanding Trinitarian progressive sanctification. The thesis is supported by four reasons why virtue ethics is key to understanding Trinitarian progressive sanctification: (1) the Trinity, virtue ethics, and sanctification are historically and conceptually interconnected in the tradition and Scripture, (2) virtue ethics based on metaphysical realism is the most biblically consistent ethical framework for Trinitarian progressive sanctification, (3) Jesus’ active roles as a teacher and example of virtue play an important part in Trinitarian sanctification, and (4) Jesus’ priestly heavenly intercession aimed at manifesting virtue in believers is crucial to understanding how the Trinity progressively sanctifies believers. The active roles of Jesus in sanctification, ordered by the Triune premise, indicate that the Trinity sanctifies such that: (1) the value having its source from the Father, is revealed through the teaching of the Son to motivate believers, who are empowered to be motivated by the Spirit, (2) the character that is from the Father is revealed through the Son’s example that is to be imitated by the believer through habituation and reciprocity, by the Spirit’s leading, and (3) believers are led by the Spirit’s intercession into prayer (Rom 8:14-16, 26-27), to be helped through the Son’s priestly intercession, in order to receive an answer from the Father, with the aim of manifesting the virtues of endurance and hope in the lives of believers.

Xunzi is traditionally identified as the third philosopher in the Confucian tradition, after Confucius and Mencius. Unlike the work of his two predecessors, he wrote complete essays in which he defends his own interpretation of the Confucian position and attacks the positions of others. Within the early Chinese tradition, Xunzi's writings are arguably the most sophisticated and philosophically developed. This richness of philosophical content has led to a lively discussion of his philosophy among contemporary scholars. This volume collects some of the most accessible and important contemporary essays on the thought of Xunzi, with an Introduction that provides historical background, philosophical context, and relates each of the selections to Xunzi's philosophy as a whole and to the themes of virtue, nature, and moral agency. These themes are also discussed in relation to Western philosophical concerns.