Passions and Virtue

Description

This book, the last that noted moral theologian Servais Pinckaers, OP, wrote before his death, was conceived as a follow-up to his previous work Plaidoyer pour la vertu (An Appeal for Virtue) (2007) Pinckaers' aim in Passions and Virtue was to show the positive and essential role that our emotions play in the life of virtue. His purpose is part of a larger project of renewing moral theology, a theology too often experienced as an ethics of obligation rather than as a practical guide to living virtuously. To this end, Pinckaers sketches a positive psychology of the passions as found in the biblical tradition, in the writings of the Fathers of the Church, in pagan authors and, especially, in the writings of Saint Thomas Aquinas. In addition to treating the virtues as they relate to the concupiscible and irascible appetites, the will, and the intellect, Pinckaers expands the discussion to include such unexpected topics as humor, silence, the positive role of anger in the life of virtue, work, rest and leisure, sports, the psychology of the virtues and, finally, the positive limits to a life of virtue in the useless servant. Pinckaers' book is an important contribution to the relatively recent retrieval of virtue ethics. His positive and unique assessment of the role of the emotions in the moral life will no doubt find favor among his English-speaking readers. About the Author BENEDICT M. GUEVIN, OSB, is professor of theology, Saint Anselm College, Manchester, NH. Foreword by Michael Sherwin, OP, vii Introduction, ix 1 Virtue and the Passions, 1 2 List of Passions, 7 3 Love and Hate, 13 4 Mercy and Pity, 21 5 Concupiscence and Hope, 30 6 Delectation, Pleasure, and Joy, 39 7 Suffering, Pain, and Sadness, 48 8 The Virtue of Humor, 58 9 The Virtue of Silence, 64 10 Anger and Virtue, 74 11 Piety, 89 12 Work and Virtue, 101 13 Rest and Leisure, 111 14 Virtue and Sports, 119 15 Psychology and the Virtues, 124 16 Of the Usefulness of the Useless Servant, 130