Community, Liberalism and Christian Ethics

by David Fergusson

• ISBN13: 9780521496780
• ISBN10: 0521496780
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1999-01-13
• Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Summary

This book explores some current issues on the borderland between moral philosophy and Christian theology. Particular attention is paid to the issues at stake between liberals and communitarians and the dispute between realists, non-realists and quasi-realists. In the course of the discussion the writings of Alasdair MacIntyre, George Lindbeck and Stanley Hauerwas are examined. While sympathetic to many of the typical features of post-liberalism, the argument is critical at selected points in seeking to defend realism and accommodate some aspects of liberalism. The position that emerges is more neo-Barthian than post-liberal. In maintaining the distinctiveness of Christian ethics and community, the book also seeks to acknowledge common moral ground held by those within and without the church.

Table of Contents

General editor's preface	ix	(2)
Preface	xi
1 Introduction	1	(21)
2 Christian ethical distinctiveness	22	(26)
3 Ecclesial ethics -- Stanley Hauerwas	48	(32)
4 Moral realism in recent philosophy	80	(29)
5 Virtue, tradition, and God -- Alasdair MacIntyre	109	(29)
6 Communitarianism and its critics	138	(23)
7 Conclusion	161	(13)
Notes	174	(32)
Bibliography	206	(11)
Index	217