Theological Ethics and Moral Value Phenomena ─ The Experience of Values

The experience of moral values is often side-lined in discussions about moral reasoning, and yet our values define a large part of our moral motives, standards and expectations. Theological Ethics and Moral Value Phenomena explores whether the experience of a meeting point of the immanent and the transcendent, i.e. the moral self and God, can be the source of our values.

The book starts by arguing for a greater theological engagement with value ethics and the phenomenological method, drawing on thinkers such as Max Scheler and William James. It then provides an understanding of the valuing person, demonstrating the importance of the value experience, for example for the ethics of care. Finally, this value perspective is utilised to engage with current moral issues such as environmental ethics.

Integrating the concepts of religious experience, moral motivation, and subjective and objective value within a broad framework of Christian theology and philosophy, this is vital reading for any scholar of Theology and Philosophy with an interest in ethics and moral reasoning.

Steven C. van den Heuvel is postdoctoral researcher in the department of Systematic Theology at the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit (ETF), Leuven, Belgium

Angela Roothaan is assistant professor of Philosophy at Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Netherlands

Patrick Nullens is professor of Christian Ethics and Rector at the Evangelische Theologische Faculteit (ETF), Leuven, Belgium