Beyond Virtue Ethics: A Contemporary Ethic of Ancient Spiritual Struggle

Beyond Virtue Ethics emphasizes the pursuit of virtues rather than their acquisition and views struggle as a manifestation of virtue. It affirms the unity of virtues and rejects a division between ethics and spirituality. The book provides examples of its application to contemporary sexual ethics and reintegration of ethics and Scripture.

Format: Hardback
Length: 240 pages
Publication date: 01 May 2023
Publisher: Georgetown University Press

Beyond Virtue Ethics presents a novel perspective on virtue ethics,stating that the pursuit of virtues is not merely important but that the "struggle" itself is a manifestation of virtue. In doing so,Stephen M. Meawad presents a way of thinking about virtue that goes beyond considering it as a perfected state,instead viewing it as a state that is to varying degrees a manifestation of the ideal itself,which is unattainable. Meawad affirms the concept of the unity of virtues,which holds that a virtue cannot be considered a virtue unless it is united with other perfected virtues. This concept is found in God,and as humans grow in unity with God,they too participate in the unity of virtues,although always to an imperfect extent.

Meawad rejects the division between ethics and spirituality and provides two concrete examples of this proposed model. The first is the application of this model to the body and its implications for contemporary sexual ethics. The second is a reintegration of ethics and Scripture through the contemporary application of an ancient Patristic divine reading.

This book offers readers a contemporary model of spiritual struggle,which involves exerting effort in all conceivable dimensions—physical,emotional,psychological,and intellectual—with the ultimate goal of attaining a semblance of,knowledge of,and intimacy with Jesus Christ. By exploring the concept of the unity of virtues and rejecting the division between ethics and spirituality,Beyond Virtue Ethics provides a valuable contribution to the field of virtue ethics and offers a fresh perspective on the spiritual journey.

Weight: 526g
Dimension: 229 x 152 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781647123116