Hope and Christian Ethics

David Elliot is Assistant Professor of Moral Theology and Ethics at the Catholic University of America, Washington, DC. He received his Ph.D. in Moral Theology from the University of Notre Dame, followed by a three-year postdoctoral fellowship as Research Associate in Theological Ethics at the University of Cambridge, where he was concurrently a Research Associate in ethics at the Von Hügel Institute, St Edmund's College, Cambridge. His work on hope was recently awarded the Essay and Book Prize from the Character Project of the Templeton Foundation for its contribution to the study of character.

'David Elliot's excellent new monograph takes up a neglected topic - the theological virtue of hope - and elegantly defends it from various contemporary criticisms and misunderstandings. What Elliot shows us is that we actually cannot do without the crucial hinge of hope in any richly-reflective ethics of virtue; and he draws deeply on both ancient and modern sources to prove it. Thought-provoking and illuminating by turns, and beautifully written too, this book can be recommended to all students of ethics who seek to understand how to resist the contemporary forces of cynicism and despair.' Sarah Coakley, Norris-Hulse Professor of Divinity, University of Cambridge

• 1. The Eudaimonia gap; 2. The theological virtue of hope in Aquinas; 3. Rejoicing in hope; 4. Presumption and moral reform; 5. Despair and consolation; 6. The problem of worldliness; 7. Hope and the Earthly City; Bibliography; Notes; Index.