Papers by William A Barbieri
Political Theology, Jan 26, 2020
In this rewarding book on the ethics and politics of immigration Sarah Song sensibly tries to nav... more In this rewarding book on the ethics and politics of immigration Sarah Song sensibly tries to navigate a middle way between proponents of open borders and defenders of restrictionist policies. This...
Toronto Journal of Theology, 2015
In 2009 the International Theological Commission (itc) of the Catholic Church published a documen... more In 2009 the International Theological Commission (itc) of the Catholic Church published a document commissioned by John Paul ii to update the Catholic natural law tradition and relate it to the broader project of developing a universal ethic in dialogue with other traditions. The document, In Search of a Universal Ethic: A New Look at Natural Law, is published here for the first time in its long-awaited official English translation, with brief commentaries from twenty-three prominent (mostly Catholic) scholars. In its introduction, the itc document suggests that Catholic thought on natural law can enrich the post–Second World War search for universal ethical commitments in ways that improve on the approaches of juridical human rights, the ‘‘global ethic’’ movement, and discourse ethics. In five chapters, the commission identifies evidence of a ‘‘common moral patrimony’’ in convergences between the Catholic account of natural law and the world’s other wisdom traditions; provides a phenomenology of the basic workings of the natural law in human persons; presents a metaphysics of nature that reconciles human freedom and divine agency; expounds natural law and the common good as measures of the political order; and finally proposes that although the natural law has its own integrity, it is ultimately fulfilled only in the order of Christ’s grace. In articulating its view of ‘‘a universal ethical message inherent in the nature of things, which everyone is capable of discerning’’ (para. 11), the itc invites members of other wisdom traditions to engage in analogous work. As John Berkman and William Mattison point out, among the notable features of the commission’s account are its concern with engaging other religious and philosophical traditions, its acknowledgement of past errors along with the historicity and non-static nature of natural law, and its explicit attention to ecological questions. The editors propose that in contrast to the document’s presentation of natural law as a species of universal ethic, we think of the two as distinct ‘‘paths’’: thus, the exposition of a natural law account rooted in a particular wisdom tradition (namely, Christianity) can be seen as constituting an alternative to the more comparative or dialogical task of finding where discrete traditions converge in universal moral commitments. They use this conception of twin ‘‘universal ethic’’ and ‘‘natural law’’ paths to organize the essays commissioned for their volume. First, however, they provide a section comprising accounts of the background and context of the document. Two of these, by itc members Serge-Thomas Bonino and Anthony J. Kelly, provide insight into the production of the document, while a third, by Russell Hittinger, comments on its place in the broader development of Catholic moral theology since Vatican ii. The ‘‘universal ethic’’ section begins with essays by Anver Emon and David Novak reflecting critically on the document from the standpoints of Islam and Judaism respectively. Jean Porter addresses the relationship between natural law and legal positivism. Tracey Rowland examines to what degree contemporary natural law arguments are
T&T Clark (UK) eBooks, 2022
New Theology Review, Apr 12, 2013
Georgetown University Press eBooks, Feb 1, 2023
Palgrave Macmillan UK eBooks, 2015
International Migration Review, 1999
This is an important book on a vital subject. Antje Winer has treated the reader to significant i... more This is an important book on a vital subject. Antje Winer has treated the reader to significant ideas, germane information and insightful analysis. And, although the book is difficult to read (and to review), it is worth the effort. The main thrust of the work is to show how the ...
The journal of law and religion, Dec 1, 2018
The rise of public advocacy for comprehensive immigration reform, particularly by Christian leade... more The rise of public advocacy for comprehensive immigration reform, particularly by Christian leaders citing biblical values, serves as the impetus for Mark Amstutz's Just Immigration: American Policy in Christian Perspective. He sets himself to describe and assess both the immigration system in the United States and Christian perspectives on it. An additional aim "is to examine and critique the churches' immigration work in order to provide recommendations for strengthening their moral contribution to the policy debate" (p. 14). The first three chapters explore the American immigration system. Chapter One sketches an overview of the topic and its high stakes. Chapter Two explicates immigration law in its recent development, structural dimensions across government agencies, and contemporary challenges of enforcement. Chapter Three evaluates the system's practical strengths and weaknesses. Amstutz claims, "The US immigration system represents a formidable political achievement" (p. 52) due to its negotiation of conflicting interests, prioritization of family (re)unification, due-process protections, and generous inclusion of diverse ethnicities. He also discusses its limits, both those "rooted in the laws and policies themselves [and those that] stem from ineffective implementation" (pp. 58-9), especially regarding unauthorized migration. Chapter Four shifts to an exposition of alternative paradigms of international relations (cosmopolitanism and communitarianism)1 and addresses their application to migration ethics. Although he acknowledges the resonance 1 Amstutz describes the communitarian view as "the international community is a society of states because interstate relations are structured not only by power but also by morality and law", whereas cosmopolitanism "represents the ideal of a just world community where individuals are the primary focus of political action" (p. 81).
Perspectives on Politics, 2019
International Journal of Public Theology, 2018
The rise of public advocacy for comprehensive immigration reform, particularly by Christian leade... more The rise of public advocacy for comprehensive immigration reform, particularly by Christian leaders citing biblical values, serves as the impetus for Mark Amstutz's Just Immigration: American Policy in Christian Perspective. He sets himself to describe and assess both the immigration system in the United States and Christian perspectives on it. An additional aim "is to examine and critique the churches' immigration work in order to provide recommendations for strengthening their moral contribution to the policy debate" (p. 14). The first three chapters explore the American immigration system. Chapter One sketches an overview of the topic and its high stakes. Chapter Two explicates immigration law in its recent development, structural dimensions across government agencies, and contemporary challenges of enforcement. Chapter Three evaluates the system's practical strengths and weaknesses. Amstutz claims, "The US immigration system represents a formidable political achievement" (p. 52) due to its negotiation of conflicting interests, prioritization of family (re)unification, due-process protections, and generous inclusion of diverse ethnicities. He also discusses its limits, both those "rooted in the laws and policies themselves [and those that] stem from ineffective implementation" (pp. 58-9), especially regarding unauthorized migration. Chapter Four shifts to an exposition of alternative paradigms of international relations (cosmopolitanism and communitarianism)1 and addresses their application to migration ethics. Although he acknowledges the resonance 1 Amstutz describes the communitarian view as "the international community is a society of states because interstate relations are structured not only by power but also by morality and law", whereas cosmopolitanism "represents the ideal of a just world community where individuals are the primary focus of political action" (p. 81).
Journal of Religious Ethics, 2002
... are Michael Theunissen's analysis of transcendental-phenomenological (for example Husser... more ... are Michael Theunissen's analysis of transcendental-phenomenological (for example Husserl, Heidegger, and Sartre) versus dialogical (for example Buber, Rosenzweig, Marcel ... In a 1978 research proposal for a study of the writings of French travelers to Brazil from the sixteenth ...
Theological Studies, Feb 28, 2022
transformation. It gives credence to the relevance of prophetism as a way of engaging global issu... more transformation. It gives credence to the relevance of prophetism as a way of engaging global issues, moves away from tribal discourses on social issues, and also sheds light on how systems of evil define our world. Finally, Ellis’s insights, as reflected upon by the different contributors to this volume, are meant to serve as a guiding star for scholars involved in disruptive narratives intended to bring about the flourishing of all creatures in God’s world.
Constitutive Justice
If we accept the proposition of the preceding chapters that constitutive justice is not only a co... more If we accept the proposition of the preceding chapters that constitutive justice is not only a coherent and distinctive category but also one much needed in contemporary ethical discourse, then it will be useful to indicate what shape plausible accounts of it might take. In this respect, it is instructive to reconsider Michael Walzer’s attempt, in his landmark book Spheres of Justice, to integrate the problem of membership into his theory of justice — an effort that, as I noted in the introduction, served more than any other work to place the ethics of boundaries and inclusion on the agenda of political theory and ethics.
Constitutive Justice, 2015
Up to this point, I have been arguing that there is a species of ethical problems involving bound... more Up to this point, I have been arguing that there is a species of ethical problems involving boundaries and definitions of communal membership that has distinctive features which set it apart from the preserve of distributive or corrective justice. Our thinking about such problems, I have suggested, has been hampered by our reliance on these traditional categories; as a remedy, I have proposed that we analyze the processes through which “communities of justice” are constituted as falling under a distinct category of justice, namely constitutive justice. Plausible accounts of constitutive justice, I have further argued, will be transcommunal in nature, mediating between local moral conceptions and more general, broadly shared ethical concerns in the negotiation of just boundaries. Although the category of constitutive justice is novel, my argument should not be taken as suggesting that its characteristic concerns have hitherto gone entirely unaddressed. To the contrary, the issue has been implicitly addressed in some of the more innovative recent work in political theory and social ethics. In this chapter, I explore four diverse lines of inquiry into justice and the ethics of boundaries that, in my view, map out constructive approaches to some of the central problems of constitutive justice. Such efforts will only benefit from further clarification of the concerns of constitutive justice that inform them.
From Just War to Modern Peace Ethics, 2012
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Papers by William A Barbieri