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 | | Priorities and Christian Ethics (New Studies in Christian Ethics) by Garth L. Hallett ISBN-10: 0521623510 ISBN-10: 0-521-62351-0 ISBN-13: 9780521623513 ISBN-13: 978-0-521-62351-3 Hardcover 1998-07-28 Cambridge University Press Find Lowest Price |
Editorials | ||
Product Description Christians have agreed, as have others, that preference should go to some extent to one's nearest, and also to some extent to the neediest. However, to what extent should we give preference to which group? And suppose these two preferences come into conflict, as they frequently do? This book provides the fullest contemporary treatment of these issues. The author brings to bear all the resources of theological and philosophical reflection on a single representative case, and from the single example, sheds light on a wide range of comparable cases, both private and public. | ||
Reviews | ||
A helpful example of Roman Catholic casuistry at its best. The question of priorities is given concrete shape with reference to a case described by Cambridge philosopher A. C. Ewing nearly fifty years ago. Should a man prefer and provide for the needs of his own son for a university education, which today might cost upwards of $100,000? Or should he employ those same considerable resources to help alleviate the misery and suffering of many more numerous people than are represented by a single son? The book is a detailed analysis and critique of the various responses to the issues raised by Ewing's case. Ewing himself seemed inclined to prefer the son over the starving. Hallett, however, suggests in light of New Testament themes (Chapter 3) and Patristic thought (Chapter 4), that, even in spite of the elevation of concerns for self-preference in Thomistic (Chapter 5) and contemporary arguments (Chapter 6), "it would be better for the father to assist the starving rather than his son, or for parents generally to favor the destitute over their less needy children" (116). The book is, in the best tradition of Roman Catholic casuistry, a detailed exploration of an issue (replete with arguments, counter-arguments, objections and replies) that seeks to investigate a particular moral dilemma so as to shed light on more general issues and exemplify broader moral principles. While the scholastic attention to detail can be intimidating, the occasional narrative glimpses into lives that have sacrificed for the sake of the neediest (see, for example, p. 94 on Suzie Valdez, "Queen of the Dump"), engage readers and leave them open and vulnerable to a challenge that might require many to reassess their own priorities. | ||