 Thomasius’ moral philosophy is accordingly informed by theological considerations in a way not shared by his works in theoretical philosophy. While, in the theoretical context, he did believe in natural reason’s capacity to overcome corruption, in the practical context he held that an evil will is at the root of our corruption, and to ameliorate it we require God’s grace. Moreover, Thomasius’s moral outlook seems to develop from his initial presentation of morality in the Introduction to the Doctrine of Morals in 1692, which is an optimistic affirmation of the viability of a moral position he identified as one involving “rational love” (vernünftige Liebe) as the only means to a “happy, courteous and cheerful life”, to a more pessimistic position in his Application in 1696 where he contends that human self-interest and an evil will constitute significant obstacles to moral improvement (a development likely due to his Pietist conversion during the period; cf. Beck 1969: 251; Ahnert 2006: 27–42).