Embodying Confident Agency: Luther's “Three Estates” as a Resource for Virtue Theory

Martin Luther's social writings (volumes 44-47 in the American edition) provide a robust account of human agency that might help Lutheran social ethics address contemporary crises of confidence. When Luther addresses concrete moral issues, he enriches his two-kingdoms frame with a focus on part...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Herman, Stewart W. 1948- (Author)
Format: Electronic Article
Language:English
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Published: Wiley-Blackwell [2017]
In: Dialog
Year: 2017, Volume: 56, Issue: 4, Pages: 428-440
IxTheo Classification:CH Christianity and Society
KAG Church history 1500-1648; Reformation; humanism; Renaissance
KDD Protestant Church
NBE Anthropology
NCC Social ethics
Further subjects:B Virtue Theory
B Human Agency
B Martin Luther
B three estates
B Moral Agency
B Reformation ethics
Online Access: Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Description
Summary:Martin Luther's social writings (volumes 44-47 in the American edition) provide a robust account of human agency that might help Lutheran social ethics address contemporary crises of confidence. When Luther addresses concrete moral issues, he enriches his two-kingdoms frame with a focus on particular social roles such as ruler, merchant, soldier, parent, etc. This (often tacit) “three-estates” approach creates room for a distinctly Lutheran contribution to contemporary virtue theory by focusing on the functions served by particular social roles more than on individual self-chosen pathways of moral improvement. It also supports a prophetic affirmation of vocation against the contemporary breakdown of expectations and confidence in social roles.
ISSN:1540-6385
Contains:Enthalten in: Dialog
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1111/dial.12362