Philosophical Virtues & Psychological Strengths

Philosophical Virtues and Psychological Strengths brings Catholic philosophical and theological moral thought into direct dialogue with the psychological sciences and aims to establish the basis for developing a common framework of understanding. This volume’s thirteen essays illustrate philosophical psychology in a realist mode; the authors have been guided by Pope John Paul II’s encyclical letter Fides et ratio and by the virtue theory of St. Thomas Aquinas. In these pages, they identify those elements of the Catholic tradition that remain indispensable for sustaining a credible dialogue between Christian doctrine and secular psychology.

The carefully selected contributors have established a common language that enables philosophers, theologians, and psychologists to share a profound understanding of the human person. The philosopher, the theologian, and the psychologist will each receive this text with distinct interests and perspectives: For the philosopher, the interest lies in the classic idiom enriched at the developmental level by psychology. For the theologian, the interest is both the normative philosophical reflections that steady the interdisciplinary dialogue and the psychological findings that enhance the tradition at the level of understanding human weakness and growth. For the psychologist, the interest lies in the philosophical contextualizing of the person and the theologically rich conception of human flourishing, relationship, and purpose.

The essays were composed by a group of renowned scholars who participated in an intense four-year research project at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences in Arlington, Virginia. The senior scholars include Benedict Ashley, Romanus Cessario, Kenneth Schmitz, Roger Scruton, and Paul Vitz; the junior scholars are John A. Cuddeback, Matthew Cuddeback, J. David Franks, Paul Gondreau, Tobias Hoffmann, Daniel McInerny, Christopher J. Thompson, and Craig Steven Titus.