RT Article
T1 Embodying Confident Agency: Luther's “Three Estates” as a Resource for Virtue Theory
JF Dialog
VO 56
IS 4
SP 428
OP 440
A1 Herman, Stewart W. 1948-
LA English
PB Wiley-Blackwell
YR 2017
UL https://www.ixtheo.de/Record/1566239184
AB 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.
K1 Human Agency
K1 Martin Luther
K1 Moral Agency
K1 Reformation ethics
K1 three estates
K1 Virtue Theory
DO 10.1111/dial.12362