Louke van Wensveen is Assistant Professor of Theological Ethics at Loyola Marymount University. She was educated at Leiden, Harvard (A.B. 1983, Comparative Religion), and Princeton Theological Seminary (Ph.D. 1987, Religion and Society). Her recent book on ecological virtue ethics is entitled Dirty Virtues.
Abstract of paper given at
Christianity and Ecology conference:
Christian Ecological Virtue Ethics: Transforming
a Tradition
The virtue language of ecologically committed people challenges the Aristotelian-Thomistic virtue tradition in the areas of cosmology, anthropology, divine providence, and justification. It also shows ways for the transformation of Christian virtue tradition toward greater ecological attunement. Within this transformed ethic certain familiar ancient as well as modern insights--for example, from the apostle Paul, Thomas Aquinas, and H. Richard Niebuhr--can provide a critical edge and ensure a recognizably Christian character.