Attentiveness to Vulnerability

“In a clearly written and carefully developed dialogue, Daniel Fleming probes the relationship between Emmanuel Levinas, Jean Porter, and the virtue of Solidarity. This significant study offers a richer account of the person as relational and of ‘flourishing’ in virtue ethics. We are indebted to Fleming for refining our attentiveness to the vulnerability of, and our solidarity with, the Other as factors integral to moral judgment and virtuous actions.”


Thomas Ryan, SM, is an Honorary Fellow of the Australian Catholic University.








“Attentiveness to Vulnerability makes a valuable and distinctive contribution to moral philosophy and theology by drawing together the natural law theory of Jean Porter, the thought of Emmanuel Levinas, and Catholic social teaching on the virtue of solidarity. By exploring these links, Fleming deepens our awareness of the ways solidarity springs from attentiveness to vulnerability, especially through his proposal to re-conceive the ‘preferential option for the poor’ as a ‘preferential option for the vulnerable.’”


—Robert Gascoigne, Emeritus Professor, School of Theology, Australian Catholic University