Instead of using this blog solely for criticism or description, I want to put my personal beliefs and opinions out there as I seek to define some sort of prescription for what I see as wrong with me and the world in which I live.
My philosophical starting point, if it has to have a label, would be virtue ethics.
The pillars of this philosophy are Aristotle, Cicero and St. Thomas Aquinas (and Confucius if you look to the East). These thinkers greatly influenced the founding fathers of America. And while virtue ethics largely went by the wayside of philosophical thought with the developments of the "Enlightenment", they have been revived in the last generation as the dead ends of utilitarian and deontological thought are becoming more evident in our society with every passing day. The modern torchbearer of virtue ethics is Alisdair MacIntyre, although those in Christian circles may be more familiar with Stanley Haurwas, who has a great deal to say of ethics in his writings.
Of course there is also the Bible. It surely has one or two things to say about virtue and ethics! A good beginning is 1 Corinthians 13:13 - But now abideth faith, hope, love, these three; and the greatest of these is love.
But my reason for using the term virtue ethics is that, while I believe true Christianity to capture this fully for application in my personal life, the philosophy itself is neutral and suitable for discussions of public application. Virtue ethics draws from the virtues common to many world religions and traditions, so whether one believes in the Holy Spirit, the spirit of Gaia, or simply the human spirit, one can see the value of a society built on goals of virtue without feeling threatened by Church and State intermingling.
Since I have begun this little research project during my limited free time, it has been fascinating to notice so many others in the media and blog world awakening to the great need for a return to a more virtuous way of life. Following are a few selected links that begin to weave a picture of the hunger that is out there and growing:
Vincent Nichols, Archbishop of Birmingham
Book Review of On Kindness by Phillips/Taylor
Liberty without virtue? (Note the Samuel Adams quotes)
Glenn Beck - The Three Deceivers (Control, Ownership, and Independence - what's not to like?)
Alright, that's it for now.
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2 comments:
Virtue is, after all, the better part of valor.
Hauerwas, while one of my personal heros, is salty by nature. To hear him speak publicly is to question his virtues. Which begs this question - is not the perception of being virtuous as important as the reality of virtuous?
Salty is a kind way of putting it. I've also heard foul, cantankerous, and ingrate. You know, I would paraphrase C.S. Lewis from Mere Christianity - Who knows how salty Hauerwas would be without his faith?
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