The Book of Proverbs and Virtue Ethics: Integrating the Biblical and Philosophical Traditions. By Arthur Jan Keefer

Abstract

While the resources of the virtue tradition inform explorations of Proverbs’ moral vision, recent ethical investigations of Proverbs suggest that virtue ethics alone cannot deliver the ‘goods’ of adequate moral understanding of the document. Socratic and Aristotelian brands of virtue ethics may serve as valuable heuristic guides that reveal aspects of Proverbs’ moral vision. The document’s complex moral discourse, however, cannot be reduced to either species of the virtue tradition. Arthur Keefer’s monograph clarifies why this is the case. Moving beyond general comparisons between Proverbs and different streams of the virtue tradition, Keefer attends to historical, conceptual, and theological factors that framed and funded the moral visions articulated by Aristotle, Aquinas, and Proverbs. Attention to these contextual factors illuminates the ethical concepts and aims of each, facilitating a constructive dialogue. And this dialogue reveals that, while Proverbs participates in and contributes to the virtue tradition, it represents a tradition of virtue ethics in its own right.