Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-148).

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Yale University Divinity School, 1991. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-77).

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-148).

Thesis (S.T.M.)--Yale University Divinity School, 1991. / Abstract. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 72-77).

Thesis (M.A.)--Catholic Theological Union at Chicago, 2003. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 145-148).

Doctoral diss.--Divinity school--Chicago--University.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

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This dissertation analyzes the Christian doctrine of grace in conversation with secular moral philosophy, highlighting its relevance to virtue cultivation within and beyond religious contexts. This is an unusual connection, admittedly, but properly understood, grace addresses key ethical issues such as moral development, moral psychology, moral luck, the limits and structure of human agency, and the importance of social conditions that hinder moral development. Though born in the teachings of ancient people who followed Jesus Christ, and subsequently historically entangled with supernatural varieties of Christian theology, the concept of grace has far wider relevance. By setting it within an existentialist and materialist framework, this dissertation explores the complex interaction between institutional, biological, and psychological factors that influence moral judgment and shape human decision making. The work gives special attention to Paul Tillich’s naturalistic conception of grace as “acceptance,” influenced by Augustinian, Hegelian, and existentialist thought, and proposes grace as a necessary condition for moral growth. In line with Tillich, it suggests that the experience of grace can help manage the estrangement caused by the awareness of life’s finitude and the entrapments of our temporal existence. However, Tillich’s use of symbolic language to describe religious experiences attributed acceptance to a non-agential God without disclosing the ontological or causal nature of the experience of grace, thereby creating a gap between the consequences of acceptance and its concrete facilitation in the absence of divine agency. This dissertation closes that gap by rearticulating grace in existentialist and intersubjective terms, clarifying Tillich’s position and bridging the divide between Christian theology and secular philosophical ethics. Analyzing the historical development of existential philosophy, this dissertation further argues against the view of existentialism as inherently anti-religious or nihilistic, and critiques recent interpretations of Tillich’s work as primarily influenced by Neoplatonic Christian theology, instead reaffirming his existentialist roots and the inspiration he drew from German idealism. In the final chapters, the dissertation explores the concept of intersubjectivity and its decisive role in the emergence of values and moral systems in order to illuminate how grace is extended and received between persons. The dissertation concludes with a case study illustrating the practical import of grace in contemporary ethics, suggesting that gracious interactions can lead to structural changes that positively impact life outcomes. The cumulative argument suggests that traditional supernatural theologies of grace and contemporary moral philosophy may have much more in common than is typically assumed, at least when the concept of grace is reinterpreted through an existentialist lens. / 2027-06-04T00:00:00Z