Dallas Willard often saw what others hadn’t yet come to see. He wasn’t so much ahead of his time as he was at the cutting edge of his time. I imagine Dallas leaning forward—squinting even—to make out what was barely coming into view. Jesus chides those who could tell the weather by attending to the color of the sky and yet failed to tell the appointed time from the signs he provided (Matt 16:1–4). Dallas paid attention to the signs. He knew what time it was.

 

Perhaps there is no better example of Dallas’s cutting-edge awareness of the times in which we live than his disappearance of moral knowledge (DMK) thesis. The DMK thesis is this: the social conditions under which persons in the West present their moral claims are unfriendly to those persons presenting those claims as knowledge. Dallas kept his eye on the conditions that threatened the possession of knowledge—knowledge of reality, the good life, the good person, and how to become a good person. Without knowledge of these things—accurate representation on a secure basis—we are left with mere opinion, presumed understanding, or strong feelings. In contrast, knowledge provides assurance that what is asserted is true and thereby engenders confidence. When it comes to Jesus and his narrow way, confidence—otherwise known as faith—is what we need.

 

If moral knowledge has disappeared—if the social conditions of one’s time and place are unfriendly to the presentation of morality as knowledge—then we are truly wandering in the dark. Dallas writes, “The institutions of knowledge in contemporary Western society do not possess a recognized body of moral knowledge, and hence do not make it available as such to the individuals and groups they serve. . . . This is not a situation that a thoughtful person can easily accept or be happy about. Is it really true that what many take to be the most important aspect of human existence, the moral, must be lived blindly, driven only by instinct, feeling, uncertified opinion, tradition, or one or another type of force?”Disappearance of Moral Knowledge, 44.

 

Taking a deep dive into Willard’s views on the disappearance of moral knowledge is a rewarding excursion. But where does one begin? Now that the book—The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge—is freely accessible online, we offer a four-step journey into Dallas’s work on this important topic.

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01.  Step 1: Preliminary Work

It is best to begin with a clear understanding of why Dallas thought knowledge was essential to life. While it is difficult to read or listen to anything Dallas wrote or said and not hear about knowledge, there are a few key places where he focuses on the importance of knowledge in general and, in particular, the significance of moral knowledge.

 

• First, begin by listening to one or more of the following talks that pertain to the importance of knowledge:

(a) “The Importance of Knowledge—not just Faith—for Spiritual Growth and Spiritual Teaching”

(b) “Christian Teachers and Their Knowledge”

(c) “Christ Gives Knowledge of Reality Not Just Faith”

• Second, Dallas’s talk to the C. S. Lewis Society titled “Truth in the Fire: C.S. Lewis and Pursuit of Truth Today” provides an accessible treatment of the importance of truth as it relates to knowledge. This talk was eventually published in Dallas Willard, Renewing the Christian Mind, chapter 32.

• Third, the first two chapters of Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge (HarperOne, 2009) are on the nature and value of knowledge. These chapters are essential for understanding why it is that the disappearance of moral knowledge is a travesty.
• Lastly, in 1998 Dallas gave a talk at Biola University titled “The Redemption of Reason in the University” from which his idea for the book began to take shape.

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02.  Step 2: Turning to the Disappearance of Moral Knowledge

While you might be tempted to go straight to the book, Dallas worked out many of his thoughts about DMK long before he had written the book. Paying attention to these talks and essays can do much to prepare you for the book itself.

 

• First, in 2001 Dallas gave a series of talks at Wheaton College on the “Disappearance of Moral Knowledge in the 20^th Century”
• Second, in 2003 Dallas gave a talk titled “Moral Goodness and the Degradation of Morality by Desire and Human Supremacy” from which came the chapter on the disappearance of moral knowledge in Knowing Christ Today.
• Third, in 2007 Dallas wrote an accessible essay titled “Where is Moral Knowledge?”
• Fourth, in 2009 Dallas published the chapter “How Moral Knowledge Disappeared” in his book Knowing Christ Today: Why We Can Trust Spiritual Knowledge (HarperOne). This chapter is the best summary of the heart of Dallas’s book.
• Fifth, in 2010 Dallas articulated a summary of his DMK thesis at the Psychiatry and Spirituality Forum at the University of California, Irvine.
• While Dallas made some progress on the book after 2010, by the fall of 2012, Dallas had been diagnosed with a cancer that took his life in May 2013. The evening before Dallas died, he agreed to have three of his former USC students help him finish the manuscript. Steve Porter, Aaron Preston, and Gregg Ten Elshof tell some of that story here. The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge

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03.  Step 3: Diving into the Book Itself

If you have journeyed through some or all of stages 1 and 2, you are certainly in a good place to engage Dallas’s book directly. It is important to note that the book is written for philosophers. In particular, it was written for ethicists and even more particularly for those who approach ethics historically. Suppose you are not a trained philosopher and/or you are not particularly well-versed in the history of 20^th-century ethics. In that case, it might be most profitable to read the forward, the editors’ introduction, the preface, and chapters 1 and 8. Even if you are a trained philosopher, starting with these chapters and returning to chapters 2–7 is not a bad strategy for this book. Chapters 2–7 exposit prevalent 20^th-century moral theories that Dallas contends neither counteracted nor substantiated the social fact of the disappearance of moral knowledge. In this sense, philosophical ethics was something like an accomplice in the historical shift of public consciousness away from presenting moral claims as the way things actually are.

 

• Thanks to Dallas Willard Ministries and the Willard Family Trust, Dallas’s book is accessible online for free. Please note that you need to download or click “READ ONLINE” in order to see the forward, introduction, and preface.

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04.  Step 4: Reflections By Others

Now that you have read some or all of the book, you may be wondering how others have responded to Dallas’s profound thesis. Below are some reflections of others on Dallas’s DMK thesis and its implications for life today.

 

• First, here are two reviews of Dallas’s book. The first is by Adam Pelser, professor of philosophy at the U.S. Air Force Academy. The second review is by Chad Bogosian, professor of philosophy at Clovis Community College.
• Second, Steve Porter attempted to summarize and draw out some implications in the short essay “The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge: Exploring Dallas Willard’s Parting Diagnosis of our Cultural Moment” (2019).
• Third, in 2019 the Disappearance of Moral Knowledge Symposium was organized by Dallas Willard Ministries and Biola University’s Center for Christian Thought. The symposia papers and responses are available here.
• Fourth, in 2023, Dallas Willard Ministries, the Hildebrand Project, and the Martin Institute sponsored a Willard-Hildebrand Colloquium on the topic of moral knowledge. See here for the papers and responses.
• Fifth, one of the editors of DMK, Aaron Preston, recently published a chapter titled “The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge, the Death of God, and the Contemporary Crisis of Meaning” in Steven DeLay, ed., Finding Meaning: Essays on Philosophy, Nihilism, and the Death of God (Wipf and Stock, 2024).
• Sixth, a couple of podcasts might be helpful. See “How to Read Dallas Willard,” For the Life of the World, and “Dallas Willard’s ‘The Disappearance of Moral Knowledge,’” God’s Story Podcast.
• Lastly, while not directly referring to Dallas’s work, several recent presentations have developed closely related themes:
  • David Brooks, “How America Got Mean,” The Atlantic (Spring 2023).
  • James Davison Hunter, “The Denial of the Moral as Lived Experience: What became of moral formation in a democratic society?,” The Hedgehog Review (Spring 2024).
  • Oliver O’Donovan, “The Disappearance of Ethics,” Gifford Lectures (2021).

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05.  Going Further

If you have come all this way, well done! To stay up-to-date on moral knowledge initiatives, check out Dallas Willard Ministries Disappearance of Moral Knowledge Initiative.