During the last few centuries, a practical dichotomy between God and humans has developed within moral theory. As a result, moral theory tends to focus only on humans where human autonomy is foundational or only on God where divine commands capriciously rule. However, the moral theology of Thomas Aquinas overcomes this dichotomy. For Thomas, humans reach their perfection by participating in God's wisdom and love. Perfecting Human Actions explores the ways humans participate in eternal law--God's wisdom that guides and moves all things to their proper action. The book begins with a thoughtful examination of the philosophic recovery of the notion of participation in Thomistic metaphysics. It then explains Thomas's theological understanding of the notion of participation to show how humans are related to God. It is discovered that when performing human actions, humans participate in the eternal law in two ways: as moved and governed by it, and cognitively. In reference to participation as moved and governed, humans are directed by God to their proper end of eternal happiness. This mode of participation can be increased by perfecting the natural inclinations through virtue, grace, and the gifts of the Holy Spirit. In reference to cognitive participation, humans as rational creatures can know their proper end and how to attain it. Through this knowledge of moral truths, the intellect participates in the eternal law. Cognitive participation is perfected by the intellectual virtues (especially faith) and the gifts of the Holy Spirit (especially wisdom). The book concludes by showing how the notion of human participation in the eternal law is a much better foundation for moral theory than the contemporary notion of autonomy. ABOUT THE AUTHOR: John Rziha is associate professor of theology at Benedictine College. PRAISE FOR THE BOOK: " A] competent and indeed masterful study. . . . Rziha's book is to be welcomed as not just an important, but indeed an overdue contribution to the contemporary recovery of Aquinas's moral theory. More importantly, this study is of surpassing importance in advancing the correct understanding of the relationship between human freedom and natural law. . . . Rziha's lucidly written and well-documented study displays all the characteristics of a competent and learned interpretation of the thought of the doctor communis according to the highest standards of current Aquinas scholarship."--Reinhard Hutter, Thomist "Rziha explores at length the two modes by which human participate in God's eternal law: as moved and governed by it and as having knowledge of it. . . . T]his book proves to be something of a comprehensive course in Thomistic thought. This project is supported by extensive and meticulous footnote reverences to texts of Aquinas." --Janine Marie Idziak, Speculum

Humans have always imagined better futures. From the desire to overcome death to the aspiration to dominion over the world, imaginations of the technological future reveal the commitments, values, and norms of those who construct them. Today, the human future is thrown into question by emerging technologies that promise radical control over human life and elicit corollary imaginations of human perfectibility. This interdisciplinary volume assembles scholars of science and technology studies, sociology, philosophy, theology, ethics, and history to examine imaginations of technological progress that promises to transcend the constraints of human body and being. Attending in particular to transhumanist and posthumanist visions, the volume breaks new ground by exploring their utopian and eschatological dimensions and situating them within a broader context of ideas, institutions, and practices of innovation. The volume invites specialists and general readers to explore the stakes of contemporary imaginations of technological innovation as a source of progress, a force of social and historical transformation, and as the defining essence of human life.

In western philosophy today, the three leading approaches to normative ethics are those of Kantian ethics, virtue ethics and utilitarianism. In recent years the debate between Kantian ethicists and virtue ethicists has assumed an especially prominent position. The twelve newly commissioned essays in this volume, by leading scholars in both traditions, explore key aspects of each approach as related to the debate, and identify new common ground but also real and lasting differences between these approaches. The volume provides a rich overview of the continuing debate between two powerful forms of enquiry, and will be valuable for a wide range of students and scholars working in these fields.

Throughout this century the Letter of James has been viewed consistently as a disjointed set of instructions. Father Hartin deviates radically from this approach. He shows that the "call for perfection" provides a unifying meaning for the letter. Examining the concept of perfection against the background of the Greco-Roman world, the Old Testament, and the Septuagint, the author shows that perfection provides a key to define the spirituality of the Letter of James. It offers an understanding of God and of the way one is called "to be in the world." Hartin adopts a fresh approach toward understanding the categories of wisdom, eschatology, and apocalyptic as they illuminate the letter's advice.

This volume offers collective exploration of major aspects of Christian Wolff's ethics. It focuses on what is arguably Wolff's most important and influential text on moral philosophy, namely his Rational Thoughts on the Action and Omission of Human Beings for the Promotion of their Happiness, originally published in 1720 and commonly referred to as the German Ethics to distinguish it from his later Latin works on ethics. The contributions cover a range of topics, including the systematic structure of the text itself and the relation between Wolff's ethics and the preceding natural law tradition, and many of the chapters consider the development of the basic tenets of Wolff's moral theory in his later Latin writings. Throughout the volume, special attention is given to the core concepts of Wolff's moral philosophy, such as obligation, perfection, the highest good, and happiness. Other notable topics include Wolff's conception of moral judgment and moral education, as well as the role of psychology and anthropology in his ethical thought. The volume also includes discussion of the influence of Wolff's ethics on subsequent figures such as C.A. Crusius, G.F. Meier, and Kant. As a whole, the volume seeks to show the importance of Wolff's German Ethics within the history of ethics as well as inspire others to engage with his thought.

This extended study of Thomistic concepts in the work of Franciscus Junius (1545–1602) is the first English monograph on Junius’s theology in more than 40 years, and the first analysis of his use of Thomistic moral concepts. On a broad level, this project investigates the reception of Thomistic ideas in the early modern Reformed tradition. On a narrow level, this study contributes to an examination of Junius’s moral theology itself.

While much dialogue has focused on aspects of Colin Gunton’s Trinitarian theology, there has been a need for a full-scale study of Gunton's doctrine of creation that locates the significance of his understanding of creation within the wider spectrum of his theology. Problem and Promise demonstrates how Gunton's doctrine of creation cannot be read in abstraction from his Trinitarian theology and argues that creation remains a central feature in Gunton’s writing that holds lasting importance for understanding ethical and moral aspects of Gunton’s theology. William B. Whitney establishes how this Trinitarian account of creation goes beyond offering a theological description of the created realm and also provides the basis for understanding human involvement in creation through the enterprises of culture.