Medieval Ethics

3 Credits · Level: Undergraduate

Given their broadly shared theological outlook, one might expect that medieval writers on ethics were content mostly to restate a bland sort of orthodoxy. In fact, though, they differed sharply on such central topics as the nature of goodness and badness, happiness, the relationship between morality and God’s will, free choice and the structure of human action, and the virtues. This course is a survey of ethical thought in the Latin-speaking West from the late fourth century through the early fourteenth century, focused on exploring and understanding those debates through a reading of foundational texts, many of which continue to exert an influence on contemporary ethical thought. Authors to be studied include Augustine, Boethius, Anselm, Abelard, Thomas Aquinas, John Duns Scotus, and William of Ockham.