Thesis advisor: Daniel J. Harrington / Holy Scripture throughout history has been a source of inspiration for human beings. One important theme that emerges from Scripture is the notion of mercy, which is a capital virtue in the gospel of Luke. The Gospel according to St. Luke has traditionally merited the title “The Gospel of Mercy” and contains parables such as “The Parable of the Good Samaritan” and “The Parable of the Prodigal Son,” which are unique to Luke’s gospel. These parables highlight the divine merciful actions of a Samaritan and of a father respectively; they show us a path of divine mercy through concrete actions. This thesis will focus on the parable of the Good Samaritan (Lk 10:25-37). / Thesis (STL) — Boston College, 2011. / Submitted to: Boston College. School of Theology and Ministry. / Discipline: Sacred Theology.

In this thesis I compare the works of Confucius and Mencius with those of Saint Augustine. My purpose in so doing is to show Confucian Augustinianism as a new theological perspective on Confucian- Christian ethics and Augustinianism by discovering analogies and differences in their respective understandings of the formation of moral self, particularly the acquisition of virtue, and how they believe this leads to happiness. Using the method of inter-textual reasoning, and assuming continuity between Augustine’s early and later works, I compare Confucius and Mencius’s xue (學), si (思) and li (禮) including yue (樂) with Augustine’s moral learning, contemplation, sacrament, and music respectively from chapter two to four. For Augustine the formation of the moral self is the process of finding truth in God. For Confucius and Mencius it is the process of becoming a person of virtue, which follows from growth in self-understanding in relation to the Way (道). For Confucians humans already have potential self-in-heart bestowed by Heaven whereas for Augustine the self is the metaphor of the soul in the struggle of both body and soul to be directed toward the love of God in which true happiness exists. In the concluding chapter, I propose a Confucian Augustinian synthesis as a new theological perspective on Confucian-Christian ethics and Augustinianism which offers a useful medium for the formation of the moral self by mutually making up for their respective weaknesses as revealed by this critical intertextual and cross-cultural reading. I argue that Augustinians can learn the value of public ritual practices and the public political self from classical Confucians whereas Confucians can learn from Augustine the value of spiritual experience in the moral formation of the pubic self. Confucian Augustinianism is teleological, constructive, political, public, sacramental and sin-virtue oriented theology. Confucian Augustinianism which is based on virtue ethics as common ground between Confucians and Augustine not only shows methodologies for engaging in public issues with civil society for its articulation of theology in the public sphere, but also provides profound spirituality with the engagement of Augustinian biblical and systematic theology unlike liberation theologies. In contrast to modern Augustinianism such as Augustinian realism (hope), Augustinian proceduralism (justice), Augustinian civic liberalism (love), and Radical Orthodoxy (love), Confucian Augustinianism highlights the virtue of humility and sincerity (誠) for the practice of love of God and neighbour by offering specific methods for cultivating self. Contrary to Confucian theology according to understanding of Heaven in the Confucian tradition, Confucian Augustinianism focuses on how to embody the Way of Heaven by cultivating virtue (德) rather than the theology of Heaven (天) or lists of virtues. By linking the self to family, community, nation, and transcendent God Confucian Augustinianism shows distinguishing ways for sanctification. Confucian Augustinianism is to seek true happiness by cultivating virtue and promoting inward, outward, and upward self through moral learning, contemplation, sacramental ritual, and music on the basis of biblical truth in a pluralistic global context. It can rectify the limit of Protestant individualism. Confucian Augustinianism is an own angle of Asian Christians on Augustinianism in the rapid growth of Christians in Asia contrary to previous Western Augustinianism. Confucian Augustinianism could make Asian Christians happy in truth.

Surely, moral education is not merely intended to result in theoretical knowledge, but instead attempts to change people's behavior. However, when examining and evaluating current trends in moral education, it appears that hitherto moral education has fallen short of its goal to make people better. In this paper, I try to determine what has caused this perceived failure of moral education and conclude that approaches that focus on teaching moral reasoning skills rather than on teaching actual moral content, i.e., values and virtues, are generally ineffective for moral improvement. However, a more traditional form of moral education, namely character education, appears to be a viable alternative to the moral reasoning methods. Since character education can be regarded as the practical application of virtue ethics, I first describe and evaluate virtue ethics and defend it against potential criticisms. I then examine what methods are effective for teaching virtues, and how such methods can potentially be incorporated into the curriculum. Since virtues cannot be taught through theoretical instruction, the acquisition of good habits constitutes the necessary foundation for the establishment of good moral character. Some methods that have been suggested for laying the foundation for virtue are the use of stories, role play, as well as the inclusion of physical and outdoor activities, etc. Furthermore, habituation constitutes the basis for the acquisition of good habits, and as such it requires the application of rewards and punishment by a caring tutor, who at the same time can serve as a role model for virtuous behavior. Finally, I extrapolate if and how character education can be employed to make people more environmentally conscious citizens. I conclude that environmental virtue or character education is the most effective method of environmental education, since it affects how an individual understands, views, and subsequently interacts with the natural environment.

Thesis (M. Div.)--Emmanuel School of Religion, 2004. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves [64]-70).

<p>Respect for autonomy is the foundation of modern bioethics, even (or especially) where bioethics is attentive to the problem of suffering caused by the practice of medicine itself. It provides guidance in the midst of therapeutic and moral uncertainty, justification for morally problematic enterprises, and the promise of protection against self-serving or predatory medical personnel. Yet bioethical arguments that appeal to the injustice or the horror of suffering depend on an instinctual and uncomplicated association of suffering, especially imposed suffering, with evil. This uncomplicated association, this flattening of the complexities of the moral landscape, must lead to a diminished capacity to navigate the very difficulties that define the field of bioethics. This dissertation explores the relationship, particularly, of autonomy, suffering, and happiness in modern bioethics, as represented by three key theorists (James Childress, Tom Beauchamp, and H. Tristram Engelhardt). It then contrasts these findings with resources from the Christian tradition: Luke-Acts, the letters of Paul, and the theologians Thomas Aquinas, Catherine of Genoa, and Margaret Ebner. Their accounts of the meaning and experience of suffering within well-lived lives makes for a more robust account of the moral life, one in which suffering plays a formative part.</p> / Dissertation

Alasdair MacIntyre is one of the key philosophers in contemporary revival of virtue ethics, and often labeled as a representative of communitarianism in liberal-communitarian debate. The purpose of this thesis is to provide a narrative of the development of MacIntyre's philosophy, from his early Marxist thought to the later virtue ethics, and to examine the continuities and discrepancies between different stages of his philosophy. This thesis argues that the central theme of MacIntyre's philosophy is a diagnosis of the crisis of modernity and the ways through which we can overcome the predicament of alienation. In other words, MacIntyre's critique of capitalism and liberalist individualism shows the sophistication of his political thought and therefore cannot simply be described as "communitarian." To demonstrate MacIntyre's analysis of the crisis of modernity, this thesis focuses on four sets of binary concepts that constitute the foundations of his critiques, that is, "is-ought", "theory-practice", "individualism-holism", and "philosophy-history". The key to his theory of overcoming alienation, in this interpretation, is to understand the dialectic relations within each set of binary concepts respectively. This thesis illustrates how young MacIntyre tried to combine Marxism and Christian theology to answer these problematics, as well as how the later MacIntyre turned to Aristotle and Aquinas for theoretical inspirations. Aside from re-articulating the role of virtues in ethics, other MacIntyre's important theoretical innovations include transcending modern instrumental rationality by elevating the significance of teleological rationality and reconstructing the dynamic relations between rationality and traditions.

In the Nicomachean Ethics Aristotle introduces his Doctrine of the Mean, where he argues that virtue is the mean between two extremes, the mean between excess and deficiency. However, Aristotle mentions actions whose wrongness does not seem to be explained in terms of excess and deficiency; rather, it seems that these actions are always wrong, regardless of whether they are excessive, deficient, or neither. Among such actions Aristotle mentions moicheia, androphonia, and klopê (usually translated "adultery," "theft," and "murder"). Thus, with such actions the main questions become, first, what, according to Aristotle, explains the wrongness of these actions, and second, what makes it the case that they are always wrong. With these questions in mind, I will take moicheia as a test case to come up with an account that can answer these questions. In order to build this account, I make use of an objection leveled by Rosalind Hursthouse against the Doctrine of the Mean and of Howard Curzer's response to this objection. Though I claim Curzer's account fails, I make use of Curzer's work in another context in order to respond to Hursthouse's objection. Ultimately, I will claim that the wrongness of actions like moicheia can be satisfactorily explained as failures of the virtue of justice in which the agent goes beyond what properly belongs to her, beyond her proper share. However, in order for this account to succeed, I must get clearer about what resources Aristotle might have to specify what properly belongs to an agent, or what makes for one's "proper share." This can be done by looking deeper at Aristotle's theory of justice. Making use of the work of Richard Kraut, I claim that the concept of proper share involves Aristotle's ideas of nomoi (laws), and the common good. Ultimately though, what will allow us to make sense of prohibitions against acts like moicheia being absolute will be Aristotle's claim that certain laws are based on phusis ("nature"). In the last analysis, it is Aristotle's concept of phusis as it relates to human beings that will be central to his account of absolute moral prohibitions.

Based on western leading charismatic leadership model, this research demonstrates the critical position of the virtue component on a charismatic view of leadership and further formulates a moral-added charismatic leadership model adaptable to the Taiwanese business contexts. We investigate how this moral-added charismatic leadership and Chinese paternalistic leadership models fit with the actual leadership practices in Taiwanese business organizations. We go through the major western charismatic leadership and Chinese paternalistic leadership theory literature and infer that both the charismatic leadership and the virtuous leadership dimension are culture-free leadership constructs, so they can be cross-culturally merged. We obtained 314 samples from managers in Taiwanese civilian organizations, and conduct the statistical analyses by using SEM technique. The findings indicate the Western Conger and Kanungo¡¦s charismatic leadership model is adoptable in Taiwan business context, and a more effective charismatic model can be formed when the virtue leadership factor is merged with this C/K charismatic leadership model. The present study also demonstrates that both the Western originated C/K charismatic leadership and the benevolent and virtue leadership dimensions of Chinese Paternalistic leadership in same constrained model can they respectively predict follower¡¦s cognitive leadership effect. We posit that managers receive follower¡¦s positive recognition by demonstrating strategic vision and articulation, sensitivity to member¡¦s needs, virtue leadership and benevolent behaviors. The present study merges Western originated charismatic leadership with Oriental virtue leadership dimension for a cross-cultural verification, perform the consolidate study of the charismatic leadership and Chinese paternalistic leadership, identify some key issues for future study, and provide managerial implications for leadership practitioners.

Vollst. zugl.: Pisa, Univ., Diss., 2003. / Contains bibliography (p. 117-134), bibliographical references, notes and name index. Immanuel Kant (1724- 1804).

Thesis (M.A.)--Denver Seminary, 2000. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves [140]-[143]).