Christian ethics has addressed moral agency and culture from the start, and Christian social ethics increasingly acknowledges the power of social structures. However, neither has made sufficient use of the discipline that specializes in understanding structures and culture: sociology. In Moral Agency within Social Structures and Culture, editor and contributor Daniel K. Finn proposes a field-changing critical realist sociology that puts Christian ethics into conversation with modern discourses on human agency and social transformation.
Catholic social teaching mischaracterizes social evil as being little more than the sum of individual choices, remedied through individual conversion. Liberation theology points to the power of social structures but without specifying how structures affect moral agency. Critical realist sociology provides a solution to both shortcomings. This collection shows how sociological insights can deepen and extend Catholic social thought by enabling ethicists to analyze more precisely how structures and culture impact human decisions. The book demonstrates how this sociological framework has applications for the study of the ecological crisis, economic life, and virtue ethics.
Moral Agency within Social Structures and Culture is a valuable tool for Christian ethicists who seek systemic change in accord with the Gospel.
In Moral Agency within Social Structures and Culture, editor Daniel K. Finn proposes a field-changing critical realist sociology that puts Christian ethics into conversation with modern discourses on human agency and social transformation.
Recenzijas
[ A] brief, accessible and enthusiastic introduction to a method that will surely be of benefit to many. * Studies in Christian Ethics * This book does a good job of applying the conceptual insights of critical realism to large, real-world issues. * Journal of Interdisciplinary Studies *
Papildus informācija
Commended for CPA Best Book by a Small Publisher and CPA Best Book by a Small Publisher 6 (United States)."[A] brief, accessible and enthusiastic introduction to a method that will surely be of benefit to many."Kevin Hargaden, Jesuit Center for Faith and Justic, Studies in Crhistian Ethics -- Kevin Hargaden, Jesuit Center for Faith and Justice * Studies in Christian Ethics *
| Foreword |
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vii | |
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1 How Critical Realism Can Help Christian Social Ethics |
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1 | (8) |
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2 How Critical Realism Can Help Catholic Social Teaching |
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9 | (10) |
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3 What Is Critical Realism? |
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19 | (10) |
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29 | (14) |
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43 | (16) |
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6 Critical Realism and Climate Change |
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59 | (14) |
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7 Critical Realism and the Economy |
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73 | (16) |
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8 Critical Realism, Virtue Ethics, and Moral Agency |
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89 | (12) |
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| Afterword |
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101 | (6) |
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| Further Reading |
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107 | (4) |
| Index |
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111 | (4) |
| About the Contributors |
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115 | |
Daniel K. Finn is a professor of theology and the William E. and Virginia Clemens Professor in Economics and the Liberal Arts at the College of Saint Benedict and Saint Johns University. His books include Consumer Ethics in a Global Economy: How Buying Here Causes Injustice There (Georgetown University Press, 2019), Christian Economic Ethics: History and Implications, and The Moral Ecology of Markets: Assessing Claims about Markets and Justice.
