The necessity of virtue as a universal over the particular tasks of hermeneutics, epistemology, and theology

Hermeneutics, epistemology, and theology are human tasks. Because they are accomplished through human agency, a question arises as to whether the virtue, or excellence, of human agents is involved in the performance of these various tasks. Is there a universal that regulates and governs these particular tasks? This paper defends the thesis that virtue (also described as personal excellence or human flourishing) is a necessary universal over the tasks of hermeneutics, epistemology, and theology.;There is a difference between merely thinking, and thinking well. Likewise, there is a difference between interpreting according to the rules, and interpreting well. To carry out a task with excellence presupposes a universal notion of virtue. An illustration may help to explain the relationship of the universal to the particular. A certain interpreter studies the Scriptures to the best of his abilities and opportunities, and yet fails to obtain the correct meaning of the text. Is the interpreter still praiseworthy for performing well as in interpreter, or does he only receive praise when he obtains true knowledge of the text? To say that it does not matter who the person is as a person, only that he got the interpretation right, seems counter-intuitive. Consider a second illustration: a thief is not typically praised for his determination, persistence, and thoroughness of preparation prior to stealing. Yet a scientist is often considered to be an intellectually virtuous person, worthy of public esteem, even if his theory is later replaced with a better hypothesis. These illustrations show that who one is as important as what one knows.;To translate this into philosophical language, there are both universals and particulars in a Christian worldview. Universals speak of how interpreters ought to be. They speak to the values and qualities of living well. Particulars speak about individual tasks, jobs, or actions. These particulars can be engaged without attention to virtue. But in such cases, there is no ascription of praise to persons for doing these tasks well. Virtue, as a necessary universal, speaks to doing any task with excellence. Virtue is the guiding universal. To demonstrate the necessity of virtue, the following argument will be made.;In chapter one, several key terms are defined and explained. These terms include: the concept of the universal, hermeneutics as a theory of understanding, and virtue as human excellence. From the biblical point of view, human excellence is summarized in the Christian virtues of faith, hope, and love. Chapter two then offers a broad historical overview of the major shifts in hermeneutical theory according to epistemological shifts. In pre-critical hermeneutics virtue was a necessary, but not a sufficient, element to a Christian hermeneutic. Modernism and the Cartesian turn in epistemology pushed virtue to the periphery while giving more attention to methodology and particulars. Postmodern hermeneutics provided for a return of virtue, but its extreme contextualism did not unite epistemology with hermeneutics, nor did it provide a universal virtue.;Chapter three then examines two attempts to reunite virtue in hermeneutical theology. First, critical realism offers a model for restoring virtue within the context of cognitive operations and public dialogue. Second, theological interpretation offers a model for a distinctive Christian interpretation beginning and ending with virtue. Both critical realism and theological interpretation, however, require some qualifications from virtue epistemology. Chapter four therefore engages the growing conversation over virtue--- epistemology. The role of virtue is then examined as a universal over the particular task of making knowledge claims. The placement and use of virtue in epistemology provides a parallel for the role of virtue in hermeneutical theory. The study of virtue epistemology, however, lacks consensus on the content of virtue. There are local conceptualizations, but the discussion lacks a universal conceptualization of human flourishing. Therefore, chapter five offers an exposition of how the Christian virtues (especially the virtue of love) provide a theologically grounded and universal notion of virtue. A distinctively Christian hermeneutic is presented that is based on a biblical worldview, regulated by love, and demonstrated through responsible reading. Reading with excellence involves actualizing love through hermeneutical ethics, hermeneutical justice, openness to transcendence, and a willingness to be transformed by the text.;Chapter six summarizes the role of virtue in hermeneutics, epistemology, and theology. Virtue is a necessary universal over all three tasks. Virtue is an inherent good, even if not always an instrumental good in particular tasks. Hermeneutics, epistemology, and theology are particulars that are guided by the universal of virtue (or human excellence). Virtue is necessary in the various human cognitive operations. Given that virtue is flourishing, its manifestation in those tasks generates a high probability or likelihood of success in those tasks. The particular success or goals of such tasks, however, are not defined by the presence of virtue. Christian theology provides for the philosophical correlation of the universal with the particular, as well as the universal definition of human flourishing. Theology provides the incarnational understanding of hermeneutics in which the reader's immanence can encounter the author's transcendence. As such, the universal works above and through the particular, but does not replace it.