The Theory and Practice of Virtue

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.