The invention of modern moral philosophy - A review of The 'Invention of Autonomy' by J. B. Schneewind

This review essay assesses the significance of J. B. Schneewind's The Inven tion of Autonomy for the history of moral thought in general and for religi ous ethics in particular. The essay offers an overview of Schneewind's comp lex argument before critically discussing his four central themes: the prim acy of Immanuel Kant, the fundamentality of conflict, the insufficiency of virtue, and community with God. Whereas Schneewind argues that an impasse b etween modern natural law and perfectionist ethics revealed irresolvable te nsions within Christian ethics and thus encouraged the emergence of secular moral thought, this author suggests that these tensions were specific to a voluntarist strand of Christian moral thought form which even antivoluntar ists of the modern period were unable to break free.