The Seductiveness of Virtue: Abraham Joshua Heschel and John Paul II on Morality and Personal Fulfillment

John J. Fitzgerald addresses here one of life's enduring questions - how to achieve personal fulfillment and more specifically whether we can do so through ethical conduct. He focuses on two significant twentieth-century theologians - Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel and Pope John Paul II - seeing both as fitting dialogue partners, given the former's influence on the Second Vatican Council's deliberations on the Jews, and the latter's groundbreaking overtures to the Jews in the wake of his experiences in Poland before and during World War II. Fitzgerald demonstrates that Heschel and John Paul II both suggest that doing good generally leads us to growth in various components of personal fulfillment, such as happiness, meaning in life, and freedom from selfish desires. There are, however, some key differences between the two theologians - John Paul II emphasizes more strongly the relationship between acting well and attaining eternal life, whereas Heschel wrestles more openly with the possibility that religious commitment ultimately involves anxiety and sadness. By examining historical and contemporary analyses, including the work of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama, the philosopher Peter Singer, and some present-day psychologists, Fitzgerald builds a narrative that shows the promise and limits of Heschel's and John Paul II's views.

Table of Contents:
Introduction 1. The Meaning of Our Question 2. Heschel and the 'Joys of the Mitsvah' 3. John Paul II and the Good We Must Do to Have Eternal Life 4. 'Seeking What Is True and Good': A Comparison and Contextualization Bibliography Index

About the Author :
John J. Fitzgerald is Assistant Professor of Theology and Religious Studies at St. John's University in Queens, New York, USA. He holds degrees from Princeton University, the University of Notre Dame Law School, and The Catholic University of America, USA. His work concentrates on fundamental moral theology, health care ethics, and comparative ethics.

Review :
How does the duty to be moral relate to the search for happiness? This book draws on the thought of two great 20th century thinkers - one a rabbi, the other a pope - to address this question. The resulting discussion is a contribution to moral theology and also to interfaith understanding. It is well worth reading even, or perhaps especially, where the reader disagrees with some point of interpretation. For it demonstrates how disagreement is only possible against the background of more fundamental agreement. I recommend it highly as an example of how to bring distinct moral traditions into fruitful dialogue. A close comparison of the provocative mysticism of Abraham Heschel and the more systematic assertions of John Paul II gives readers of this book access to the very heart of the moral life - what after all is the good of good? Fitzgerald allows these two wise teachers to deepen and extend reflection upon basic existential questions that are so near to us in living and yet so difficult to think. A deceptive simplicity of style well serves the book's title. The Seductiveness of Virtue brings two of the most fecund moral thinkers of the 20th century, Abraham Joshua Heschel and Pope John Paul II, into rich dialogue. John Fitzgerald’s achievement in plumbing the depths of these two central figures, and bringing them into conversation with each other, is a substantial one. I highly recommend this volume for courses in ethics, moral theology, and interfaith dialogue. Fitzgerald offers a deeply insightful and sympathetic account of the interrelationship between happiness and virtue in the work of John Paul II and Abraham Joshua Heschel, two towering figures of twentieth-century religious thought. The book will be of importance not only to scholars of Christian ethics, but also to students of comparative theology. This study offers a creative engagement of two of the giants among philosopher-theologians of the twentieth century, bringing them into conversation around the central questions of the moral life that occupied much of their scholarly and religious careers. The result is a fruitful cross-pollination of ideas across religious traditions that is at once a contribution to eudaimonism, virtue ethics, moral theology, and interreligious dialogue. Fitzgerald's study is an important resource for scholars and advanced students and could serve effectively as a text for upper-level courses in a number of fields. The book is an outstanding exercise in interdisciplinary scholarship. [F]or those who do regard happiness as life’s summum bonum, Fitzgerald’s brief book is an excellent place to look if one is searching for substantive suggestions on how not only to pursue happiness but to achieve it. The Seductiveness of Virtue, in putting two of the most important modern theologians of their respective faiths in conversation with each other on the topic of whether living ethically can lead to happiness, results in a felicitous theological antiphony, and makes for an excellent contribution to the fields of interfaith dialogue, moral theology, and comparative ethics. We all want happiness and meaning, but many of us do not attain them in any sustained way. This book expertly presents two moral and religious giants of the twentieth century from two different faiths—Abraham Joshua Heschel and Pope John Paul II—and their view that the service of God and humanity is what leads us to true fulfillment. At first, that may seem simple, but Fitzgerald shows us both the similarities and the differences in their respective approaches, and he ultimately provides each of us with nuanced and comprehensive guidance on how to achieve our deepest goals. The book is richly sourced...and serves as a good addition to the libraries of those working on John Paul II, Abraham Heschel, virtue theory, or comparative ethics more broadly...[It] provid[es] an excellent analysis of each thinker individually... Fitzgerald's consistent focus on his chosen question helps to give clarity, discipline and thoroughness to his work...Perhaps...this lucid and engaging book may move others to take up [related] challenges.