RamistThomist
Puritanboard Clerk
What are some foundational ethics texts that are accessible? Although a lot of older Reformed dogmatics have expositions on the Ten Commandments which are quite good, I have in mind stand alone volumes. These are the ones I am familiar with:
1. Davis, John Jefferson. Evangelical Ethics. Decent intro to basic issues.
2. Feinberg, Ethics for a Brave New World. From a dispensational perspective but does a good job approaching tough situations today regarding bio ethics.
3. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics. Not endorsing the content but many treatises on ethics interact with him.
4. Geisler, Norman. Ethics: Issues and Options. Yeah, he's Geisler but at the time situation ethics was the bogeyman and Geisler does a decent job with it.
5. MacIntyre, Alasdair. A Short History of Ethics. Explains why different thinkers chose the ethical options they did, given their philosophical background. When MacIntyre wrote this, he had just converted from Marxism. He does a good job dealing with Marx and Hegel (insert: Hegel is bad) but he is pretty weak on major Christian thinkers like Augustine, Aquinas et al. Interestingly enough, Bahnsen recommended this text.
6. Oliver O'Donovan. He has recently released several new texts on ethics which are more accessible than his wonderful Resurrection and Moral Order. O'Donovan is dense and he assumes a wide knowledge of the history of philosophy, but his writing is steeped in Scripture and prayer.
7. O'Donovans, Oliver and Joan Lockwood. Bonds of Imperfection. A collection of fantastic essays on problems in Christian social philosophy throughout church history. The essays on usury, Book 19 of City of God, and Wycliffe are worth the price of the book many times over.
8. -------------------------. From Irenaeus to Grotius. A collection of primary sources on Christian reflections on political philosophy, along with the O'Donovan's erudite introductions.
9. O'Donovan, Oliver. The Desire of Nations. A non-theonomic, yet sympathetic account of how Christendom is a reaction to the church's witness to the powers.
10. Budziszewski, J. Written on the Heart: A Case for Natural Law. I'm not sure where I stand on his conclusions, but he does a great job on Locke and Bentham. (trigger warning: He is a thomist and a Roman Catholic)
11. Budziszewski , J. Evangelicals in the Public Square. A fine analysis and critique of various models of Evangelical engagement, dealing with Carl Henry, Schaeffer, and John Howard Yoder. (see above trigger warning).
1. Davis, John Jefferson. Evangelical Ethics. Decent intro to basic issues.
2. Feinberg, Ethics for a Brave New World. From a dispensational perspective but does a good job approaching tough situations today regarding bio ethics.
3. Aristotle, Nichomachean Ethics. Not endorsing the content but many treatises on ethics interact with him.
4. Geisler, Norman. Ethics: Issues and Options. Yeah, he's Geisler but at the time situation ethics was the bogeyman and Geisler does a decent job with it.
5. MacIntyre, Alasdair. A Short History of Ethics. Explains why different thinkers chose the ethical options they did, given their philosophical background. When MacIntyre wrote this, he had just converted from Marxism. He does a good job dealing with Marx and Hegel (insert: Hegel is bad) but he is pretty weak on major Christian thinkers like Augustine, Aquinas et al. Interestingly enough, Bahnsen recommended this text.
6. Oliver O'Donovan. He has recently released several new texts on ethics which are more accessible than his wonderful Resurrection and Moral Order. O'Donovan is dense and he assumes a wide knowledge of the history of philosophy, but his writing is steeped in Scripture and prayer.
7. O'Donovans, Oliver and Joan Lockwood. Bonds of Imperfection. A collection of fantastic essays on problems in Christian social philosophy throughout church history. The essays on usury, Book 19 of City of God, and Wycliffe are worth the price of the book many times over.
8. -------------------------. From Irenaeus to Grotius. A collection of primary sources on Christian reflections on political philosophy, along with the O'Donovan's erudite introductions.
9. O'Donovan, Oliver. The Desire of Nations. A non-theonomic, yet sympathetic account of how Christendom is a reaction to the church's witness to the powers.
10. Budziszewski, J. Written on the Heart: A Case for Natural Law. I'm not sure where I stand on his conclusions, but he does a great job on Locke and Bentham. (trigger warning: He is a thomist and a Roman Catholic)
11. Budziszewski , J. Evangelicals in the Public Square. A fine analysis and critique of various models of Evangelical engagement, dealing with Carl Henry, Schaeffer, and John Howard Yoder. (see above trigger warning).