Moral Psychology in History: From the Ancient to Early Modern Period

This book provides a comprehensive study of major issues of moral psychology throughout history, from ancient to early modern philosophy. The volume focuses primarily on the Western history of philosophy but also deals with Jewish and Islamic heritage. The Introduction chapter lays out the historical background in broad strokes, giving the reader the “lay of the land” when it comes to the terms of analysis and their overall development within the Western tradition of moral psychology. The book continues by studying and analyzing moral anthropology, moral agency and motivation, virtues and social and political commitments, taking a thematic approach in a specific time-period and focus on the most unique and/or fruitful discussions about a particular historically situated discussion when it comes to thinking about questions and/or ‘problems’ in the field of moral psychology. Aimed at both a layman and academic audience, this book is of great interest to a broad readership.

Introduction.-Part 1: Moral Antropology.- Chapter 1. Animal Psychology and Human Nature: A Historical Perspective.- Chapter 2. A Historical Anthropology of Affectivity in the Medieval Latin World.- Chapter 3. The Matter of Character: The Case of Pre-modern Physiognomy. - Part 2. Moral Agency and Motivation.- Chapter 4. First Movements, Passions, and Free Choice.- Chapter 5. The Inner Struggle. From Augustine to Shakespeare.- Chapter 6. Casuistry, Probabilism and The Demandingness of Morality. - Chapter 7. Visions of Human Sociability in Early Modern Moral and Political Thought.- Part 3: Virtues, Happiness and Moral Education- Chapter 8. Virtues, Vices, and Small Morals: Theophrastus’ Characters.- Chapter 9. Psychology of Happiness in Ancient Greek and Roman Ethics.- Chapter 10. Happiness in Classical Arabic Philosophy.- Chapter 11. Women, Education, and Moral Psychology, 1400–1800.- Part 4: Dimensions of Moral Psychology.- Chapter 12. Common Good and Individual Good.- Chapter 13. Religious Tolerance in Islamic Theology: Fakhr al-Din al-Razi on Freedom of Religious Belief.- Chapter 14. Nobility And Pre-Modern Moral Psychology: A Question of Framework.- Chapter 15. Friendship in Medieval and Early Modern Literature and Thought.- Chapter 16. Compassion and Pity.

Virpi Mäkinen is Senior Lecturer in Theological and Social Ethics at the University of Helsinki, Finland. She is a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. Currently she also leads the research project At the Frontiers of Humanity: Extreme Necessity in the History of Ethics, Law and Politics, 300–1600”  (financed by the Research Council of Finland). In her research, she moves within medieval and early modern history of moral philosophy and political thought, as well as legal history, and theology. Among her main publications are Property Rights in the Late Medieval Discussion on Franciscan Poverty (Peeters 2001); Rights at the Margins: Historical, Philosophical and Legal Perspectives, co-ed. with Jonathan Robinson, Pamela Slotte & Heikki Haara (Brill 2020); Transformations in Medieval and Early Modern Rights Discourse, co-ed. with Petter Korkman (Springer 2005) and Lutheran Reformation and the Law (ed. Brill 2006).

Simo Knuuttila was Professor in Philosophy of Religion at the University of Helsinki. He was a member of the Finnish Academy of Science and Letters. He had acted as a Director of two Centre of Excellence, History of Mind Unit and Philosophical Psychology, Morality and Politics Unit (financed by the Research Council of Finland). His scholarly contribution to the fields of theology and philosophy covers the wide range of topics from ancient to modern period. Among his main publications are Modalities in Medieval Philosophy (Routledge, 1st ed. 1993; 2nd ed. 2010); Emotions in Ancient and Medieval Philosophy (Clarendon Press 2004) and Sourcebook for the History of the Philosophy of Mind: Philosophical Psychology from Plato to Kant, co-ed. with Juha Sihvola (Springer 2014).