St. Bonaventure University

Fr. David Couturier, O.F.M. Cap., associate professor of Theology and Franciscan Studies, has published a new book that synthesizes a moral vision from Judeo-Christian history and the lived experience of the early Franciscans. Using the insights of moral philosopher Martha Nussbaum, “A New Moral Imagination” investigates the ethical highlights of the way of Francis and Clare of Assisi.

Beginning with the ancient philosophical question of Plato and Aristotle on what the good life is, he charts the basic moral foundations of the Jewish imagination and the early Jesus movement before laying out the distinctive moral imagination of the early Franciscan movement.

Dr. Sean Martin, professor of theology at Viterbo University, La Crosse, Wisconsin, commented on the book’s relevance for ethics today: “Fr. David Couturier’s ‘A New Moral Imagination’ brings the classical Western philosophical and Judeo-Christian ethical traditions into a singular Franciscan moral vision that is critical for every student.

“More than just a successful introductory moral theological text, however, the critical victory of ‘A New Moral Imagination’ lies in its presentation of a system whose elegance and logic meet the needs of the current darkness of our public conversation. His insistence on a morality of empathy shaped by not simply solidarity with the marginalized but by the leadership of the minores of our divided society makes ‘A New Moral Imagination’ necessary reading for each person wanting to bring about a better human community.”  

Fr. David’s book can be purchased at Franciscan Institute Publications, www.franciscanpublications.com.