Description
Book SynopsisIn The Call to Happiness, Nathaniel A. Warne examines how sixteenth and seventeenth century Puritans adopted a eudaimonistic conception of ethics in their writings while still adhering to their traditions. He shows how classical eudaimonism within the Puritan context is related to other areas of theology, ethics, and politics, and that the idea of divine calling or vocation fits within Puritan eudaimonism. Warne further shows how work can also be understood as an aspect of human flourishing, illuminated from within this tradition of Christian eudaimonism alongside the doctrine of calling.
Trade ReviewNathaniel Warne is that rare thing: a rigorous philosophical theologian who is also deeply humane. This book is about how some of the most impressive people in the Christian tradition have wrestled with what it truly means to be happy - not just in theory but also in practice. He not only understands the Puritans sympathetically in their own context, but also draws out their lessons for our own age, when the idea of 'happiness' has become so impoverished. Anyone who wants to enrich it again will benefit from reading this book. -- Alec Ryrie, Durham University
This illuminating book will be a welcome conversation partner for contemporary discussions on flourishing. Nathaniel Warne’s well researched treatment of the Puritan perspective of happiness carefully integrates their themes of virtue, contemplation, vocation and calling, and friendship that clearly reveals the partial happiness of this world pales in comparison with its fulfillment in heaven. This insightful book deserves a wide readership! -- Tom Schwanda, Wheaton College
Table of ContentsChapter 1: Puritanism and the ‘Haunting Fear’ Chapter 2: Nature, Ends, and Happiness Chapter 3: Reason, Theoria, and Praxis Chapter 4: A ‘Kind of Life’: Rationality, Virtue, and Moral Development Chapter 5: ‘Imposed on Man:’ Personhood, Command and Calling Chapter 6: ‘Common Good:’ Community and the Political Chapter 7: Community, Friendship, and Law Chapter 8: Puritan Ethics and a Tradition of Happiness
