The Pitfalls of Christian Political Moralism
Book I of Utopia and its Augustinian Source
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 20144980 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Daniel Burns (0000-0002-2487-535X), Daniel E Burns (0000-0002-8844-7573, corresponding author) |
| Year | 2020 |
| Volume | 57 (Number 213) |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 89-102 |
| Publication date | 2020-06-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Moreana (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0047-8105 • E-ISSN: 2398-4961 |
| Publisher | Edinburgh University Press (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.3366/more.2020.0075 |
| OpenAlex | W3029344665 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 1 |
In depicting the Utopia's main character Raphael Hythloday, Thomas More appears to have drawn on the character Evodius in Augustine's dialogue On Free Choice. Hythloday and Evodius hold similar views on the relation between human law and the divine prohibition on homicide. Hythloday's views appear at first to be inconsistent, but Evodius's arguments for his related views can help make better sense of Hythloday's. Both characters also turn out to display similar moral-political confusions, caused by the interaction of their Christian faith with their insufficient political education, that hurt their ability to serve their country as good citizens. These confusions are typical of educated Christian citizens but not inevitable: More and Augustine each offer alternative models of more clear-sighted Christians who can serve their earthly homeland in full awareness of its imperfections
Aesthetics · Character (mathematics) · Christian ethics · Epistemology · Faith · Homeland · Moral character · Morality · Political science · Politics · Relation (database) · Sociology · Utopia · American Constitutional Law and Politics · Augustinian Studies and Theology · Law · Philosophy · Religion and Society Interactions · Religious studies
| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |