The Virtuous Fall
M arguerite Porete, M eister E ckhart, and the Medieval Ethics of Sin
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 14760741 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Danielle C Dubois (0000-0002-9369-5088, DuBois Business College, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2015 |
| Volume | 43 |
| Issue | 3 |
| Pages | 432-453 |
| Publication date | 2015-09-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Journal of Religious Ethics (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0384-9694 • E-ISSN: 1467-9795 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/jore.12104 |
| OpenAlex | W2117734952 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 15 |
The medieval Church's concern with moral reform contributed to the emergence of a genre of literature in the thirteenth century dedicated to the vices and virtues. Inspired by monastic and scholastic traditions, treatises such as L aurent d' O rléans's Somme le roi encouraged the avoidance of sin and provided the faithful with a moral taxonomy that ultimately ensured their access to heaven. M arguerite P orete's Mirror of Simple Souls and M eister E ckhart's Discourses of Instruction challenge this virtue‐centered approach to salvation. Relying on their shared claim that the fall of the just man is in fact a virtue, this essay argues that their moral theology is grounded not on the a posteriori act of penance needed for salvation, but on the a priori consent of the will. This alternative view of moral life finds support in previous strands of the C hristian tradition, and in particular in P eter A belard's theory of intentionalism
A priori and a posteriori · Epistemology · Heaven · Moral theology · Political science · Theology · Virtue · Virtue ethics · Law · Medieval Literature and History · Medieval Philosophy and Theology · Philosophy · Theology and Philosophy of Evil
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |