The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics, Second Edition

PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION

ix PREFACE TO THE SECOND EDITION This new edition of The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics responds to an ongoing interest in virtue theory, one sustained by developments in several disciplines, especially the psychological sciences, philosophy, and theology, which have occurred since the book’s original publication by the University of Notre Dame Press. The preparation of this revised edition has afforded me the opportunity to take account of certain suggestions that were contained in the overall warm reviews that The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics first received in the major theological journals. What is useful and pertinent among recent publications, including references to research in the psychological sciences, is noted mainly in the updated bibliographical information found in the footnotes and, more fulsomely, in the new chapter devoted to the present state of discussion about the human virtues. The newly composed essay, chapter seven, also considers certain official documents of the Catholic Church that bear on the discussion of the virtues and theological ethics. These include the 1992 Catechism of the Catholic Church, the 1993 encyclical Veritatis Splendor, and more recently in 2005, the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est. Drawing on these documents that interest religious and all people of good will, the new concluding chapter aims to illustrate the perennial value of theological instruction about the moral virtues for safeguarding human life and society. Cessario_FINAL.indd ix Cessario_FINAL.indd ix 9/9/2008 9:55:52 AM 9/9/2008 9:55:52 AM I express my gratitude for the initiative taken by Chuck Van Hof on behalf of this revised edition, and also to the other gentle-people at the University of Notre Dame Press who have made for more than a decade and a half the first edition available to their readers, especially to teachers, who, I am told, continue to find The Moral Virtues and Theological Ethics a valuable tool to introduce their students to the dynamics of living a happy life. It is my hope that the revised edition will augment the book’s attractiveness for use both in the classroom and elsewhere. Romanus Cessario, O.P. Boston, Massachusetts x Preface to the Second Edition Cessario_FINAL.indd x Cessario_FINAL.indd x 9/9/2008 9:55:53 AM 9/9/2008 9:55:53 AM ...