This project pursued two distinct inquiries: first, a comparative analysis of the beatitudes in the gospels of Matthew and Luke; and, second, a collaborative empirical study (with Edward and Linda Craighead) of the attitude toward compassionate love among contemporary evangelical Christians.

Director: Carl R. Holladay

Virtues such as forgiveness, gratitude, and self-control are instrumental to what constitutes the "good life" in many religious worldviews. Empirical research on these topics is growing within the social and life sciences, but this research is not always interpreted in forms that can most effectively lead to a broader cultural understanding of these virtues and of their real-world implications. This project focuses on forgiveness and revenge, situating the existing scientific knowledge on these topics in an evolutionary perspective. The project also brings evolutionary thinking to bear on grateful emotion and on the role of religion in the production of self-control. 

Project director: Michael E. McCullough

Although all cultures envision human flourishing as an ideal condition, some emphasize the means of achieving it, whereas others emphasize the impediments. Israelite and early Jewish culture was particularly preoccupied with the impediments. Was there an early human blunder that prevented flourishing? Perhaps creation itself was structured to promote flourishing, but if so, was there some "original obtuseness" that impeded one's attunement to the cosmic order? Or was flourishing impossible now because of an ancient cosmic malice that could be overcome only in an eschatological future? This project examines these ideas in ancient Israel and emergent Judaism.

Director: Carol A. Newsom

This project examines doing "unto others" and the emotional depths of neighbor-love in relation to the happiness, prosperity, health, and spiritual development of the giver. The project defines love as the affective state in which the happiness and security of another person means as much as the happiness and security of self. It draws on science, philosophy, and theology to highlight the errors of dichotomous thinking (e.g., between agape and eros, and between egoism and altruism). It shows that in helping others we inevitably help ourselves as well.

Director: Stephen G. Post

Evolutionary biology illuminates and challenges our understanding of virtue and well-being. It raises questions about the origin and nature of ethical norms and other-regarding commitments, and, on a deeper level, about the very notion of human flourishing in a Darwinian context. Evolutionary theorists debate whether self-giving love and its moral norms are imposed culturally upon an otherwise recalcitrant biological substrate, or instead are the fulfillment of a genuinely other-regarding organismal telos. Using ideas from game theory and hierarchical selection to move beyond this false dichotomy, this project explains other-regard as the internalization of moral norms that both fulfill and transform human being.

Director: Jeffrey P. Schloss

Given the widespread harm of interpersonal offenses at individual, group, and societal levels, a sustained focus on forgiveness and restorative justice holds promise for equipping people to flourish in the face of pain. This project examines the intersections of forgiveness, gratitude, repentance, and restorative justice with happiness and flourishing. It investigates how forgiveness as unselfish love is related to well-being in ways that take seriously the relationships of science and theology. The scientific approach is to integrate physiological, behavioral, linguistic, and self-report assessments to give a broad understanding of the human experience of forgiveness and flourishing.

Director: Charlotte vanOyen Witvliet