Papers by Peter Koritansky
Analecta Hermeneutica, Feb 5, 2018
In this short monograph, Riccardo Saccenti surveys the various and competing interpretations of n... more In this short monograph, Riccardo Saccenti surveys the various and competing interpretations of natural law and natural right from the late Middle Ages through the modern period. As “a survey,” the intention of this book is not so much to advance and defend a central thesis about natural law, but rather to paint a picture of how the various interpreters of natural law have responded to the most important primary texts (of Gratian, Thomas Aquinas, Duns Scotus, William of Ockham, and John Locke, for example) and to one another. One of the issues with which Saccenti is most concerned is the transition from the medieval understanding of natural law inspired by an Aristotelian concept of nature to a modern theory of natural individual rights. Where exactly does this transition begin and where is it more or less consummated? A reader of this book will be impressed by the complexity of this debate (among others) and the nuances of difference between its participants. Saccenti’s account of it succeeds in exposing the folly of overly simplistic readings of intellectual history that are ideologically motivated, and reminds us what a careful reading of primary and secondary sources can achieve.
Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association, 2015
Theology, Feb 23, 2017
Thomas J. Bushlack, professor of Christian ethics at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, ... more Thomas J. Bushlack, professor of Christian ethics at the University of St. Thomas in Saint Paul, Minnesota, US, addresses in this book this general and simple question: "What is the nature of the relationship between virtue ethics and social ethics in Christian ethics, especially in Catholic social thought?" (vii). To respond to this question, he appeals to two notions: pilgrim church and Thomistic theory of civil virtue. Both are briefly approached in the Introduction, especially in the sections "The people of God on pilgrimage" (1-6) and "Thomas, Thomism and Thomisms at Vatican II" (7-11). The notion of pilgrim church plays a central role in this book, and is explained and developed primarily from a Catholic perspective. In speaking about the people of God on pilgrimage, Bushlack calls on a wide range of sources, from Augustine and Thomas Aquinas to Lumen gentium and Evangelii gaudium of Pope Francis. To develop the Thomistic theory of civil virtue today, Bushlack argues that "elements of Aquinas' (implicit) ecclesiology can be seen in Vatican II," as some elements of Thomism were deliberately abandoned while others were reiterated at the council.
Thomas Aquinas and the Philosophy of Punishment explores how Aquinas's understandings of natu... more Thomas Aquinas and the Philosophy of Punishment explores how Aquinas's understandings of natural law and the common good apply to the contemporary philosophical discussion of punitive justice. It is the first book-length study to consider this question in decades, and the only book that confronts modern views of the topic. Peter Karl Koritansky presents Thomas Aquinas's theory of punishment as an alternative to the leading schools of thought that have dominated the philosophical landscape in recent times, namely, utilitarianism and retributivism. After carefully examining each one and tracing its roots back to Immanuel Kant and Jeremy Bentham, Koritansky concludes that neither approach to punitive justice is able to provide a philosophically compelling justification for the institution of punishment. He explains how St. Thomas approaches the same philosophical questions from a markedly different set of assumptions rooted in his theory of natural law and his understanding of the common good. Not without its own difficulties, Aquinas's approach offers a rationale and justification of punishment that is, Koritansky argues, much more humane, realistic, and compelling than either contemporary school is able to provide. Koritansky distinguishes his reading of the Angelic Doctor from that of other interpreters who tend to conflate Aquinas's teaching with various aspects of recent thought. A final chapter considers the death penalty in John Paul II's Gospel of Life and debates whether current Catholic teaching about the death penalty conflicts with Aquinas's arguments in favour of the death penalty.
Proceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association
Christian Bioethics, 2004
Inspired by Patrick Lee's "A Christian Philosopher's View of Recent Dire... more Inspired by Patrick Lee's "A Christian Philosopher's View of Recent Directions in the Abortion Debate," this essay raises the question of how effective philosophical arguments can be in determining the moral status of legalized abortion. On one hand, Christian philosophers have been successful in explaining both the humanity and the personhood of the unborn child, as well as exposing the incoherence of those who would deny the unborn child's humanity or personhood. Nevertheless, in order to confront the pro-abortion position in its most radical form, a much more complex philosophical argument must be given. Following thinkers such as Alasdaire MacIntyre, Christian philosophers must articulate and promote a philosophical position according to which morality is conceived in richer terms than the mere respecting of individual rights. The social dimension of human nature must be rediscovered in order that the happiness and welfare of others becomes a desirable goal in and of itself. According to a morality where individual rights is the bottom line (for example, that of Judith Jarvis Thompson), women very well may have the right to "extricate" themselves from their pregnancy even when doing so will result in the death of their child. What must be explained, therefore, is the more profound insight that social morality is equally concerned with obligations to others, including those who are most helpless and unable to speak for themselves.
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Papers by Peter Koritansky