The Joy of Humility: The Beginning and End of the Virtues

The true meaning of humility persistently drives debate largely because we cannot agree on the words definition. The "correctness" of normative terms matters and humility carries a distinctive normative weight. How we understand humility is not a matter of mere semantics. It is a pursuit of inquiry with the potential to informperhaps even to transformour lives. The Joy of Humility takes up this task with a view toward the perennial question of what entails a truly flourishing life. Here philosophers theologians ethicists and psychologists work to frame the debate in such a way that the conversation can move forward. To model this goal each chapter prompts a response to which the chapters author offers a reply. Part one considers the scope and implications of humility as a contested concept; part two works toward clarity on how to measure humility as a trait and its potential impact on individuals and society. With contributions from Miroslav Volf Norman Wirzba Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas Jason Baehr Lisa Sowle Cahill Don E. Davis Kent Dunnington Jane Foulcher Sarah Gazaway Jennifer A. Herdt Elizabeth J. Krumrei-Mancuso Robert C. Roberts and Everett L. Worthington Jr. The Joy of Humility offers an engaging discourse for everyone laypeople and scholars alike to consider these profoundly human questions. By opening up the space for dialogue to push past ideological and cultural assumptions this volume challenges us to consider how humility in calling us to esteem others as integral to our own well-being opens us up to a life of joy.