Books in Progress

Our forebears had a richer moral lexicon than we currently do.  Moreover, the terms we keep from them often undergo a switcheroo, revising their meaning in a manner that makes them look dopey and misguided.  Terms like "meek" or "chaste" or "docile" now mean different, often negative things.  We have reassigned those virtue terms to other posts and sent no reinforcements to replace them.  The moral battle has pressed on, and the lines have shifted. How can we fortify our moral lives without having the right map of the battlefield?

In this book, I sing the praises of these virtues of yesteryear, re-representing the wisdom therein.  I draw on psychological and philosophical insights to show that the virtues we have lost are helpful to us right now.  These old, now-fresh notions are a useful moral diagnostic, a needful corrective, a goal for growth.  They are features we want in ourselves and in those we love.  

Here's a draft copy of the book.  

Please do not circulate or cite it without permission. 

Christian authors through the centuries have offered many suggestions for ways to grow in virtue.  Do these suggestions conform to the empirical findings of Contemporary Psychology?  This book, aimed at a general readership, does two things: (i) it presents the case that the Christian understanding of growth in virtue is corroborated by current psychological findings and (ii) describes the steps these works suggest for virtue formation.  Readers will form a concrete understanding of the practical steps one ought to take to cut bad character traits and grow in virtue, steps suggested by both Christian tradition and Psychology.  

Here's a copy of a partial book proposal for this project.  Please do not circulate or cite it without permission. 

I choose the topics for the chapters of this book based on a reading of the Ecumenical Councils.  I read through, noted the places where metaphysical concepts are either used or assumed, and compiled a list of them.  I then organized the quotations by metaphysical concept, and then the metaphysical concepts in an order most conducive, in my estimation, for learning.  Those concepts are the content of the chapters, and that ordering became the ordering of the chapters.  Each chapter begins with quotations from the Councils relevant to the topic of the chapter.  I then introduce the concepts involved.  Afterwards, I give concrete examples of the concepts in action.  I follow that by considering objections or problems for the concept or theory.  I show the theological applications such philosophy has.  Finally, I return to the quotations from the beginning and show how one should understand them, given the content of the chapter. 

Patristic-era authors like Aetius; Scholastics like Anselm, Aquinas, and Ockham; debates like the one between Lutherans and Calvinists at the Colloquy of Montbeliard; later Reformation authors like Turretin; any of dozens of neo-scholastic manuals; the wide world of Analytic theologians.  In many cases, understanding such authors requires knowledge of logic.  Even to disagree with them requires being able to understand them and their arguments, and being able to understand them and their arguments requires basic level logical proficiency.

This book aims to provide such proficiency, much like a Statistics for Social Sciences textbook aims to provide just the knowledge most needful for excellence in Social Scientific research. No more.  As such, it will make real logicians grumpy.  That’s fine; just don’t show them the book.