Renewal Within Tradition series
What does it mean to love? What are the traits of character that
support love’s activity? How does the economy of grace—the mission of
Christ and the action of the Holy Spirit—elevate and transform human
love, virtue, and the desire for happiness?
In On Love and Virtue: Theological Essays, the
eminent Dominican theologian Michael Sherwin considers how the Catholic
tradition has addressed these questions. Fr. Sherwin places this
tradition in dialogue with contemporary questions.
Taking St. Thomas Aquinas as his primary guide, Fr. Sherwin reads St.
Thomas in light of his biblical and patristic sources (especially St.
Augustine) and engages contemporary developments in philosophy in order
to deepen our understanding of how grace both heals and elevates human
nature. Along the way, Fr. Sherwin considers the vocation of the
theologian and the biblical and patristic understanding of the Christian
call to moral apprenticeship and friendship with God.
Pages: 312. Hardcover.
About the author:
Michael S. Sherwin, O.P. is Professor of Fundamental Moral Theology
at the University of Fribourg, Switzerland. Director of the Saint Thomas
Aquinas Institute for Theology and Culture and of the Pinckaers
Archives, Fr. Sherwin has written extensively on the psychology of love,
virtue ethics, and moral development. Author of By Knowledge and By Love: Charity and Knowledge in the Moral Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas,
his work places Thomas Aquinas’ thought in dialogue with contemporary
questions. Sherwin is especially known for his interest in the analogies
between moral development and the arts, underlining the affinities
between Christian virtue, music, dance and sport.
Endorsements:
“These admirable essays excel in both scholarship and insight. They
make clear how dangerously we may go astray in our thinking about love,
happiness, and the virtues if we fail to attend to what can only be
learned from theological reflection. This is theological reflection at
its best.”
- Alasdair MacIntyre
University of Notre Dame
“Michael Sherwin’s On Love and Virtue is a worthy, indeed splendid, sequel to his outstanding study, By Knowledge and By Love: Charity and Knowledge in the Moral Theology of St. Thomas Aquinas.
In this new work, Fr. Sherwin displays himself again as a profound—and
profoundly engaging—interpreter of the very heart of Aquinas’s moral
theology, love and virtue. With great intellectual dexterity, with a
wealth of ancient and modern literary allusions at his display, and in a
graceful style, Sherwin confronts his readers with the blinding
luminosity and the burning relevance of Aquinas’s thought in its
encounter with the modern ‘conditio humana.’”
- Reinhard Hütter
The Catholic University of America
“Fifty years ago, Christian Ethics was all about Love. But moral
theologians soon discovered that love was not all we needed, and so we
sought to recover the virtues. In this masterful collection, Michael
Sherwin shows us that we need both love and virtue to guide and nourish
our deepest desires. Furthermore, for Christians love and virtue flow
from discipleship to Jesus Christ and the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Sherwin writes with grace and erudition. He engages not only the giants
of Patristic and Medieval theology, but also recent advances in the
cognitive sciences, and with contemporary and classic literary
narratives. We must continue to be grateful to Sherwin for the guidance
he provides all of us.”
- John Berkman
Regis College, University of Toronto
“This collection of essays journeys through a stunning landscape of
scholarly reflection on matters of unparalleled significance: what it
means to love, what it takes to love, and what objects of love truly
satisfy. Around every corner is a striking insight, intersection, or
contrast that sheds new light upon these questions, but nevertheless
vindicates—though often in unexpected ways—the ancient wisdom of the
Christian faith. Even the most skeptical readers will find themselves
drawn to Sherwin’s refined erudition, generous interpretation, clear
argumentation, and profound commitment to Christian anthropology. After
reading these essays I could not help but marvel once again at Jesus’
call to love as He has loved, and at its incredible implication that, by
grace, it is actually possible to do so.”
- Patrick M. Clark
University of Scranton