Intractable Disputes about the Natural Law

Description

Both as cardinal and as Pope Benedict XVI, one of Josef Ratzinger’s consistent concerns has been the foundational moral imperatives of the natural law. In 2004, then Cardinal Ratzinger requested that the University of Notre Dame study the complex issues embedded in discussions about “natural rights” and “natural law” in the context of Catholic thinking. To that end, Alasdair MacIntyre provided a substantive essay on the foundational problem of moral disagreements concerning natural law, and eight scholars were invited to respond to MacIntyre’s essay, either by addressing his work directly or by amplifying his argument along other yet similar paths. The contributors to this volume are theologians, philosophers, civil and canon lawyers, and political scientists, who reflect on these issues from different disciplinary perspectives. Once the contributors’ essays were completed, MacIntyre responded with a closing essay.

Throughout the book, the contributors ask: Can a persuasive case for a foundational morality be made etsi Deus daretur (as if God did not exist)? And, of course, persuasive to whom? The exchanges that take place between MacIntyre and his interlocutors result, not in answers, but in rigorous attempts at clarification. Intractable Disputes about the Natural Law will interest ethicists, moral theologians, and students and scholars of moral philosophy.

Sujets

• Philosophie
• Éthique et morale
• Philosophie de la religion
• Religion
• Christianisme
• Moral Philosophy
• Religious
• PHILOSOPHY
• Philosophie et théologie
• General officer
• Pope Benedict XVI
• Ethics
• Catholic
• Christianity
• General
• Alasdair MacIntyre
• Benoît XVI

Informations

• Publié par: University of Notre Dame Press
• Date de parution: 01 août 2009
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9780268076849
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

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Alasdair MacIntyre and Criticss
I D  edited by
Lawrence S. Cunningham
N L
“Lawrence Cunningham has assembled an esteemed group of scholars to provide incisive
analyses of the contemporary state of natural law theory, particularly in light of Alasdair
MacIntyre’s groundbreaking work. The essays are lucid, engaging, and intellectually
sophisticated. Intractable Disputes about the Natural Law is a must-read not only for moral
theologians, but for anyone concerned about the conceptual foundations of human Alasdair MacIntyre
rights, human dignity, and moral dialogue in pluralistic societies.”
—Stephen J. Pope, Boston College
“MacIntyre’s first essay, on its own, would make this book an important scholarly con- and Critics
tribution. But the ensuing contributions enable the book to flourish further, with
contributions on subjects both readily associated with natural law and moral disagreement
(for example, common morality, human rights, and rival visions of virtue) as well as
those more creatively connected to the genesis of the text (sacramental life, interreligious
dialogue, and modes of moral discourse). Cunningham’s volume both broadens and
deepens contemporary thinking on a perennial topic, and will richly reward its readers.”
—William C. Mattison III, The Catholic University of America
In 2004, then Cardinal Ratzinger requested that the University of Notre Dame study the
complex issues embedded in discussions about “natural rights” and “natural law” in the
context of Catholic thinking. To that end, Alasdair MacIntyre provided a substantive essay
on the foundational problem of moral disagreements concerning natural law, and eight
scholars were invited to respond to MacIntyre’s essay, either by addressing his work
directly or by amplifying his argument along other yet similar paths. The contributors to
this volume are theologians, philosophers, civil and canon lawyers, and political scientists, edited by
who reflect on these issues from different disciplinary perspectives. MacIntyre responds
to the other contributors in a closing essay.
Contributors: Alasdair MacIntyre, Jean Porter, David A. Clairmont, M. Cathleen Kaveny, Lawrence S. Cunningham
Daniel Philpott, Gerald McKenny, Kevin L. Flannery, S.J., John J. Coughlin, O.F.M., and
Thomas Hibbs.
Lawrence S. Cunningham is the John A. O’Brien Professor of Theology at the University
of Notre Dame. His most recent book is A Brief History of Saints.
ISBN-13:978-0-268-02299-0
ISBN-10:0-268-02299-2
90000
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
9 780268 022990undpress.nd.edu
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N L Alasdair MacIntyre|
and Critics
 
Lawrence S. Cunningham
    
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Copyright ©  by University of Notre Dame
Notre Dame, Indiana 
www.undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Sections I–VI of chapter  copyright © 2006 by Cambridge University Press
used with permission.
Designed and composed Wendy McMillen, set in 10.6/15 Minion.
Printed in the USA by Bookmobile, Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Intractable disputes about the natural law : Alasdair MacIntyre and critics /
edited by Lawrence S. Cunningham.
p. cm.
Includes index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-268-02299-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-268-02299-2 (cloth : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-268-02300-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-268-02300-X (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Natural law. 2. Law and ethics. I. Cunningham, Lawrence
K428.I58 2009
340'.112—dc22
2009000208
∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence and
durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines for Book Longevity of
the Council on Library Resources.00 Cunningham FM 1/27/09 12:02 PM Page v

Preface vii
List of Contributors xiii
 
Intractable Moral Disagreements 
Alasdair MacIntyre
 
Does the Natural Law Provide a Universally Valid Morality? 
Jean Porter
 
Moral Disagreement and Interreligious Conversation:
The Penitential Pace of Understanding 
David A. Clairmont
 
Prophetic Rhetoric and Moral Disagreement 
M. Cathleen Kaveny
 
After Intractable Moral Disagreement:
The Catholic Roots of an Ethic of Political Reconciliation 
Daniel Philpott00 Cunningham FM 1/27/09 12:02 PM Page vi
 Contents|
 
Moral Disagreement and the Limits of Reason:
Reflections on MacIntyre and Ratzinger 
Gerald McKenny
 
Ultimate Ends and Incommensurable Lives in Aristotle 
Kevin L. Flannery, S.J.
 
The Foundation of Human Rights and Canon Law 
John J. Coughlin, O.F.M.
 
The Fearful Thoughts of Mortals: Aquinas on Conflict,
Self-Knowledge, and the Virtues of Practical Reasoning 
Thomas Hibbs
 
From Answers to Questions: A Response to the Responses 
Alasdair MacIntyre
Index 00 Cunningham FM 1/27/09 12:02 PM Page vii

In a letter dated October , , Cardinal Josef Ratzinger, then prefect of
the Congregation for the Defense of the Faith, wrote to the
presidentelect of the University of Notre Dame, Father John Jenkins, C.S.C. In
that communication Cardinal Ratzinger expressed the Church’s
concern about the difficulty of finding a “common denominator” for the
moral principles held by all people. Recalling the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights () as an example of how a broad
constituency once could agree on certain fundamental moral principles, the
letter said that today there is an “obscuring of natural human rights.”
It went on to note that the Congregation was well aware of the
complexity of the issue on both the theoretical and practical-pastoral
levels. The Catholic Church—and here the letter quotes directly from
Pope John Paul II’s Apostolic Letter Novo Millennio Ineunte—is not
attempting to impose its vision based on faith but “defending the values
rooted in the very nature of the human person” (#), a defense which
the Church considers an urgent issue for all of humanity.
In light of this concern Cardinal Ratzinger requested that the
University of Notre Dame (along with two other Catholic schools in
the United States, the Catholic University of America and the Ave
Maria Law School) undertake symposia to address themselves to
various aspects of this issue. The Congregation asked for a report on plans
for such activities before the end of .
The year , of course, brought a radical change in the
Catholic Church: John Paul II died after more than twenty-six years as
pope. Cardinal Ratzinger was elected to the Chair of Peter on April ,
, six months after his letter was sent to the schools concerned. By
that time, Father Jenkins had been inaugurated as the president of the
vii00 Cunningham FM 1/27/09 12:02 PM Page viii
viii Preface|
university. Despite these changes, it was Father Jenkins’s intention that
the invitation given to the university be pursued.
A study committee was formed by Father Jenkins under the aegis
of the chairs of the Departments of Philosophy and Theology, with
the participation of Alasdair MacIntyre, to discuss the various
strategies we might employ to respond to the mandate given in Cardinal
Ratzinger’s letter to Father Jenkins. Various approaches were
discussed. We learned in due course that both the Catholic University
and the Ave Maria Law School had made plans to organize symposia.
We decided, after much discussion, that a third symposium was not
necessary or desirable. Nor did we intend, as the letter intimated that
we could, to invite non-Christians to enter into these discussions. We
agreed to take a more focused approach.
The distinguished moral philosopher Alasdair MacIntyre, a
member of our faculty, generously offered to revise an earlier
substantive essay on the foundational problem of moral disagreements
concerning natural law. We invited eight scholars to react to McIntyre’s
essay, either by addressing his work directly or by amplifying his
argument along other but cognate paths. We agreed that the essayists should
reflect on MacIntyre’s essay from different disciplinary perspectives.
The contributors to this volume are theologians, philosophers, civil
and canon lawyers, and political scientists. All but two of the
contributors are from the University of Notre Dame. When the contributors’
studies were completed, MacIntyre responded with a closing essay. In
that sense, the two essays by MacIntyre are “bookends” for the other
contributions. Our decision to invite contributors who are not only
philosophers but also thinkers from a variety of disciplines was based
on the conviction that a subject of such seriousness ought to have a
variety of perspectives represented.
Each contributor to this volume recognizes that many highly
competent scholars in the Anglophone world have been engaged, in a
serious fashion, with issues concerning the natural law. Scholars as well
known as Germain Grisez, John Finnis, and Timothy George, among00 Cunningham FM 1/27/09 12:02 PM Page ix
Preface ix|
others, have contributed to this discussion over the years in a variety of
scholarly forums. The writers in this volume are not unaware of the
work of those and other scholars but have decided that we would
engage directly the thinking of Alasdair MacIntyre so that the end
product of the research presented here would be a tightly organized
symposium not viva voce but in the form of a learned exchange after the
model of Cardinal John Henry Newman’s observation that the
university is the place where “mind clashes with mind.”
While the letter to