Homo religiosus: does spirituality have a place in neo-Aristotelian virtue ethics?

Abstract

In this article I seek to show the importance of spirituality for a neo-Aristotelian account of ‘the good life’. First, I lay out my account of spirituality. Second, I discuss why the issue of the place of spirituality in the good life has often either been ignored or explicitly excluded from consideration by neo-Aristotelians. I suggest that a lot turns on how one understands the ‘ethical naturalism’ to which neo-Aristotelians are committed. Finally, I argue that through a deeper exploration of the evaluative standpoint from within our human form of life as ‘meaning-seeking animals’ we can come to better appreciate the importance of spirituality for human beings throughout recorded history up to the present and why we can be described as homo religiosus.

Aristotelian Naturalism and Philosophy of Religion

“…84 Hursthouse even denies explicitly that religious faith can be compatible with rationality; cf. Hursthouse (1999), 233, andMcPherson (2015) for a critical comment. 85 Nussbaum argues that her primary aim is not so much a defence of religion but rather the preservation of a certain legal tradition in which the human right to freely engage in one's preferred religious practice plays a central role; cf.…”

Pengembaraan Akuntan Menuju Kesadaran Spiritual: Dilihat Dari Perspektif Ontologi, Epistemologi, Dan Aksiologi

“…Berdasarkan obyek yang dipelajari penulis menfokuskan pada dua aliran filsafat yaitu aliran realisme dan aliran idealism (Mc Pherson, 2015). Pertama, realism yang dicetuskan pertama kali oleh Socrates yaitu aliran yang menyatakan obyek-obyek yang diketahui adalah nyata dalam dirinya sendiri.…”

Spirituality and Ethics: A Literature Review

“…Differentiating between religion and spirituality has been generally accepted in literature (Ayoun et al, 2015;Creighton-Smith et al, 2017) Although the term spirituality is generally viewed distinct from the term religion in that latter is formal, institutionalized and organized, McPherson (2015) assert spirituality leads to organized and agreed practices in the fullest sense generally shared by other followers. The examples can be seen in the birth of new religion-like grouping and cults which are based on spiritual search of different people coming together and forming new forms, though these groups are not necessarily based on any religion or may have followers from different religions.…”

“…Dhiman (2016) names humanity as "Homo moralis", not "Homo economicus". For, McPherson (2015) who describe humanity as "homo religiosus" claim spiritual person has a vague sense of a 'spiritual force' or something similar which requires person to reject the materialism. In this regard, spirituality is now increasingly suggested as a potential counter to the problem of materialism or having profit at the expense of "being a good person" (McGhee and Grant, 2017, p. 160).…”