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Ethics
Dietrich von Hildebrand offers here the most nuanced version that we have of a value-based ethics, building on the ethics of Max Scheler, but going far beyond it.
The Prolegomena of the work gives an account of Hildebrand’s understanding of phenomenology. In the first fourteen chapters Hildebrand lays out a general theory of value, in which he distinguishes himself from his predecessors by not limiting value to the sense of what is good for the human person, but instead placing at the center of his reflections what is good and worthy in itself, prior to its beneficent impact on human persons. On this basis he develops his signature concept of value-response, wherein a person gives value its due, along with his signature concept of the transcendence of the person in value-response. He re-thinks virtue theory on the basis of his value philosophy, and in doing so he places virtue at the center of his ethics long before the revival of virtue theory in Anglo-American thought. Of particular importance is his re-thinking of moral evil in its different forms, and he throws new light on the question how it is possible knowingly to do wrong. The book concludes with a probing account of the religious dimension of the moral life and the place of God in morality.
The Prolegomena of the work gives an account of Hildebrand’s understanding of phenomenology. In the first fourteen chapters Hildebrand lays out a general theory of value, in which he distinguishes himself from his predecessors by not limiting value to the sense of what is good for the human person, but instead placing at the center of his reflections what is good and worthy in itself, prior to its beneficent impact on human persons. On this basis he develops his signature concept of value-response, wherein a person gives value its due, along with his signature concept of the transcendence of the person in value-response. He re-thinks virtue theory on the basis of his value philosophy, and in doing so he places virtue at the center of his ethics long before the revival of virtue theory in Anglo-American thought. Of particular importance is his re-thinking of moral evil in its different forms, and he throws new light on the question how it is possible knowingly to do wrong. The book concludes with a probing account of the religious dimension of the moral life and the place of God in morality.
556 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1952
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About the author
Dietrich von Hildebrand
77 books210 followersDietrich von Hildebrand was a German Catholic philosopher and theologian who was called (informally) by Pope Pius XII "the 20th Century Doctor of the Church."
Pope John Paul II greatly admired the work of von Hildebrand, remarking once to von Hildebrand's widow, Alice von Hildebrand, "Your husband is one of the great ethicists of the twentieth century." Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has a particular admiration and regard for Dietrich von Hildebrand, whom he already knew as a young priest in Munich. In fact, as young Fr. Ratzinger, he even served as an assistant pastor in the church of St. Georg in Munich, which von Hildebrand frequented in the 1950s and 1960s. It was also in St. Georg that Dietrich and Alice von Hildebrand were married.
The degree of Pope Benedict's esteem is expressed in one of his statements about von Hildebrand, "When the intellectual history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century is written, the name of Dietrich von Hildebrand will be most prominent among the figures of our time." Von Hildebrand was a vocal critic of the changes in the church brought by the Second Vatican Council. He especially resented the new liturgy. Of it he said "Truly, if one of the devils in C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters had been entrusted with the ruin of the liturgy, he could not have done it better."
Von Hildebrand died in New Rochelle, New York, in 1977.
Pope John Paul II greatly admired the work of von Hildebrand, remarking once to von Hildebrand's widow, Alice von Hildebrand, "Your husband is one of the great ethicists of the twentieth century." Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI has a particular admiration and regard for Dietrich von Hildebrand, whom he already knew as a young priest in Munich. In fact, as young Fr. Ratzinger, he even served as an assistant pastor in the church of St. Georg in Munich, which von Hildebrand frequented in the 1950s and 1960s. It was also in St. Georg that Dietrich and Alice von Hildebrand were married.
The degree of Pope Benedict's esteem is expressed in one of his statements about von Hildebrand, "When the intellectual history of the Catholic Church in the twentieth century is written, the name of Dietrich von Hildebrand will be most prominent among the figures of our time." Von Hildebrand was a vocal critic of the changes in the church brought by the Second Vatican Council. He especially resented the new liturgy. Of it he said "Truly, if one of the devils in C.S. Lewis' The Screwtape Letters had been entrusted with the ruin of the liturgy, he could not have done it better."
Von Hildebrand died in New Rochelle, New York, in 1977.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
July 14, 2016
This book is divided into two sections: Value and motivation and value and morality. In the first section, the author explains the nature of values, their relation to God, relativity, etc. The second part is a continued lucubration of values, along with moral consciousness, freedom and will, spheres of morality, moral evil, and more.
This book took a while for me to go through. My classes in Christian thought and ethics in college were not enough to prepare me for some of the author's terms and allusions to unfamiliar literary characters. With the help of a dictionary, I gleaned lot of wisdom from these pages. One thing I found interesting was the importance to recognize a difference between virtues and temperaments.
I wish the author had expounded on some statements that I simply disagreed with. For example, he failed to explain why it is better to destroy an animal (a creation of God) than a work of art (a creation of humans).
Nevertheless, this book is full of insightful wisdom and if a reader has a dictionary, and patience, and perhaps a degree, I think (s)he'll learn a lot.
This book took a while for me to go through. My classes in Christian thought and ethics in college were not enough to prepare me for some of the author's terms and allusions to unfamiliar literary characters. With the help of a dictionary, I gleaned lot of wisdom from these pages. One thing I found interesting was the importance to recognize a difference between virtues and temperaments.
I wish the author had expounded on some statements that I simply disagreed with. For example, he failed to explain why it is better to destroy an animal (a creation of God) than a work of art (a creation of humans).
Nevertheless, this book is full of insightful wisdom and if a reader has a dictionary, and patience, and perhaps a degree, I think (s)he'll learn a lot.
Displaying 1 of 1 review