Why Faith Is a Virtue
What is faith? In what ways might faith be a virtue, a component of a life well lived? How might faith be corrupted and become a vice? In Why Faith Is a Virtue, Philip D. Smith builds on the work of Alasdair MacIntyre and Robert Adams to argue that faith contributes to human excellence. To make the argument, Smith sorts through conflicting possible "faiths" and shows how some of them are not virtues at all. Nevertheless, he argues that faith, properly understood, contributes to crucial human practices: scientific research, social reform, and parenting. He explains how and why faith is a virtue.
"Smith has skillfully advanced an audacious claim, namely, that
religious faith is a virtue. Not only does he distinguish eight
varieties of faith, he also has a whole chapter contrasting faith
with credulity, which he quite naturally recognizes as a vice. His
discussion of virtues shows his mastery of recent moral philosophy.
Even those not entirely convinced by his argument are bound to
learn a good deal along the way."
--Newton Garver, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Philosophy,
University of Buffalo
"Smith has skillfully advanced an audacious claim, namely, that
religious faith is a virtue. Not only does he distinguish eight
varieties of faith, he also has a whole chapter contrasting faith
with credulity, which he quite naturally recognizes as a vice. His
discussion of virtues shows his mastery of recent moral philosophy.
Even those not entirely convinced by his argument are bound to
learn a good deal along the way."
--Newton Garver, Distinguished Emeritus Professor of Philosophy,
University of Buffalo
Product Details
- Title : Why Faith Is a Virtue
- Author: Smith, Philip
- Publisher: Cascade Books
- Publication Date: 2014
- ISBN: 9781630871482
Philip D. Smith is Professor of Philosophy at George Fox University in Newberg, Oregon. He is the author of The Virtue of Civility in the Practice of Politics and, with Mark McLeod-Harrison, Being at Home in the World. He has also published fiction ebooks: The Heart of the Sea and Buying the Bangkok Girl.