The field of bioethics amply illustrates that morally, ours is a pluralistic culture. Kevin Wm. W... more The field of bioethics amply illustrates that morally, ours is a pluralistic culture. Kevin Wm. Wildes, SJ., in his book Moral Acquaintances: Methodology in Bioethics undertakes to assess the strengths and limitations of the reigning methods of bioethics and to propose methods that will enable bioethics to operate better in our pluralistic times, methods based on the concept of moral acquaintanceship, a concept that attempts to build on values or principles opposing theories might hold in common. It is not until very late into the book that Wildes makes explicit his understanding of bioethics. It is: "a discipline that resolves moral controversies in medical research, experimentation, clinical treatment, and health care policy. As a field of inquiry seeking to resolve moral controversies, bioethics has sought agreement or consensus with a zeal reminiscent of the knights' search for the lost chalice. Each method in bioethics attempts to establish as much agreement as possible, and different methods legitimate themselves, in part, by their ability to articulate agreement." Had this definition appeared earlier in the book, it would have saved some readers much frustration and confusion, that is, those who operate with the understanding that bioethics is a subdiscipline of ethics, that it is the attempt to discem what is the moral action in a given situation (in the health care arena) and what reasons justify that action. This definition explains the curious categories Wild~ uses to evaluate valious theories; that is, for instance, he regularly faults an ethical system, here called a method, for not achieving a consensus in a pluralistic culture. The terms of evaluation employed by Wildes suggest that "truth" is not a comfortable category for him. In fact, "true" and "false" or "moral" and "immoral" or "good" and "evil" or "light" and "wrong" are words that rarely appear in Wildes' discourse and when they do they are regularly placed in quotation marks. His discourse is full of talk about methods that are "appealing" or "attractive", about choices that are "appropriate" or "inappropriate", about methods that have "strengths" and "weaknesses." Wildes' choices for representatives of various theories/methods are interesting. Books on bioethics regularly review the philosophic options: utilitarianism, deontology, principlism, natural law, virtue based ethics, feminist care ethics, and casuistry are generally the primary players. Peter Singer is Wildes' utilitarian, Alan Donagan his deontologist, Grisez/ BoylelFinnis/May his natural law theorists and Pellegrino and Thomasma
Cowdin and Tuohey argue for a rethinking of Catholic bioethical principles and the Church&amp... more Cowdin and Tuohey argue for a rethinking of Catholic bioethical principles and the Church's moral authority. Citing the Second Vatican Council for support, they argue that if the Church were to respect the proper autonomy of medicine, it would allow sterilizations. In this essay I argue against Cowdin and Tuohey's understanding that the Church has derived its moral laws independent of consultation with medicine and that it treats medicine simply as a source of technical expertise. I also argue that they misunderstand that nature of autonomy as well as the Church's position regarding the type of autonomy they request for medicine. I will especially argue against their understanding of the principles of totality and double effect as "dispensations" from the moral order. I conclude that they have provided no grounds to cause the Church to reconsider its condemnation of all sterilizations.
The professional discipline of bioethics for some time now has seemed to be concerned primarily w... more The professional discipline of bioethics for some time now has seemed to be concerned primarily with two major questions.1 One is how various ethical theories such as utilitarianism, deontology, natural law ethics, principlism, feminist care ethics or casuistry (and perhaps other systems as well) would assess a certain action, e.g., assisted suicide or cloning.
Upon reading case books on medical ethics or simply news reports in the media, one cannot escape ... more Upon reading case books on medical ethics or simply news reports in the media, one cannot escape noticing that the medical professions are currently involved in practices that some few decades ago would have been unthinkable, not only because of the level of technology involved, but because of the then prevailing moral evaluation of the practices. One reads of Dr. Kevorkian and his death machine; of a sixty-one-year-old woman having a baby conceived with another woman’s ovum in a petri dish; of embryos created solely for experimental purposes; of vital organs taken from living anencephalic infants; of millions of abortions yearly. Clearly a revolution of some kind, beyond the merely technological, has taken place.
The Church's teachings are often very challenging. Those who are involved in the health-c... more The Church's teachings are often very challenging. Those who are involved in the health-care professions and who conduct their practices in accord with Church teaching can expect misunderstanding and even rejection from their colleagues and patients. One of the most difficult teachings of the Church is its condemnation of contraception. In 1968 Pope Paul VI issued the encyclical Humanae vitae, which hit the world like a bomb. In it he affirmed the Church's long-standing teaching on human sexuality and condemned contraception in particular. Today scientific advances such as in vitro fertilization and embryonic stem-cell research, as well as the challenges in making moral decisions about end-of-life care, make it increasingly difficult for health-care professionals to practice in accord with their deeply held moral convictions. Developing a properly formed conscience, which is the voice of God, is essential in dealing with these contemporary issues and making right choices. This essay outlines the process for properly forming the conscience. It also explains why prescribing contraception is morally wrong.
178 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF JURISPRUDENCE (1991) arguments in the encyclical, except in the most ... more 178 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF JURISPRUDENCE (1991) arguments in the encyclical, except in the most minimal way.2 In spite of their strong affirmation of Church teaching, these ethicists do not employ the traditional natural law arguments of the Church, arguments that ...
The field of bioethics amply illustrates that morally, ours is a pluralistic culture. Kevin Wm. W... more The field of bioethics amply illustrates that morally, ours is a pluralistic culture. Kevin Wm. Wildes, SJ., in his book Moral Acquaintances: Methodology in Bioethics undertakes to assess the strengths and limitations of the reigning methods of bioethics and to propose methods that will enable bioethics to operate better in our pluralistic times, methods based on the concept of moral acquaintanceship, a concept that attempts to build on values or principles opposing theories might hold in common. It is not until very late into the book that Wildes makes explicit his understanding of bioethics. It is: "a discipline that resolves moral controversies in medical research, experimentation, clinical treatment, and health care policy. As a field of inquiry seeking to resolve moral controversies, bioethics has sought agreement or consensus with a zeal reminiscent of the knights' search for the lost chalice. Each method in bioethics attempts to establish as much agreement as possible, and different methods legitimate themselves, in part, by their ability to articulate agreement." Had this definition appeared earlier in the book, it would have saved some readers much frustration and confusion, that is, those who operate with the understanding that bioethics is a subdiscipline of ethics, that it is the attempt to discem what is the moral action in a given situation (in the health care arena) and what reasons justify that action. This definition explains the curious categories Wild~ uses to evaluate valious theories; that is, for instance, he regularly faults an ethical system, here called a method, for not achieving a consensus in a pluralistic culture. The terms of evaluation employed by Wildes suggest that "truth" is not a comfortable category for him. In fact, "true" and "false" or "moral" and "immoral" or "good" and "evil" or "light" and "wrong" are words that rarely appear in Wildes' discourse and when they do they are regularly placed in quotation marks. His discourse is full of talk about methods that are "appealing" or "attractive", about choices that are "appropriate" or "inappropriate", about methods that have "strengths" and "weaknesses." Wildes' choices for representatives of various theories/methods are interesting. Books on bioethics regularly review the philosophic options: utilitarianism, deontology, principlism, natural law, virtue based ethics, feminist care ethics, and casuistry are generally the primary players. Peter Singer is Wildes' utilitarian, Alan Donagan his deontologist, Grisez/ BoylelFinnis/May his natural law theorists and Pellegrino and Thomasma
Cowdin and Tuohey argue for a rethinking of Catholic bioethical principles and the Church&amp... more Cowdin and Tuohey argue for a rethinking of Catholic bioethical principles and the Church's moral authority. Citing the Second Vatican Council for support, they argue that if the Church were to respect the proper autonomy of medicine, it would allow sterilizations. In this essay I argue against Cowdin and Tuohey's understanding that the Church has derived its moral laws independent of consultation with medicine and that it treats medicine simply as a source of technical expertise. I also argue that they misunderstand that nature of autonomy as well as the Church's position regarding the type of autonomy they request for medicine. I will especially argue against their understanding of the principles of totality and double effect as "dispensations" from the moral order. I conclude that they have provided no grounds to cause the Church to reconsider its condemnation of all sterilizations.
The professional discipline of bioethics for some time now has seemed to be concerned primarily w... more The professional discipline of bioethics for some time now has seemed to be concerned primarily with two major questions.1 One is how various ethical theories such as utilitarianism, deontology, natural law ethics, principlism, feminist care ethics or casuistry (and perhaps other systems as well) would assess a certain action, e.g., assisted suicide or cloning.
Upon reading case books on medical ethics or simply news reports in the media, one cannot escape ... more Upon reading case books on medical ethics or simply news reports in the media, one cannot escape noticing that the medical professions are currently involved in practices that some few decades ago would have been unthinkable, not only because of the level of technology involved, but because of the then prevailing moral evaluation of the practices. One reads of Dr. Kevorkian and his death machine; of a sixty-one-year-old woman having a baby conceived with another woman’s ovum in a petri dish; of embryos created solely for experimental purposes; of vital organs taken from living anencephalic infants; of millions of abortions yearly. Clearly a revolution of some kind, beyond the merely technological, has taken place.
The Church's teachings are often very challenging. Those who are involved in the health-c... more The Church's teachings are often very challenging. Those who are involved in the health-care professions and who conduct their practices in accord with Church teaching can expect misunderstanding and even rejection from their colleagues and patients. One of the most difficult teachings of the Church is its condemnation of contraception. In 1968 Pope Paul VI issued the encyclical Humanae vitae, which hit the world like a bomb. In it he affirmed the Church's long-standing teaching on human sexuality and condemned contraception in particular. Today scientific advances such as in vitro fertilization and embryonic stem-cell research, as well as the challenges in making moral decisions about end-of-life care, make it increasingly difficult for health-care professionals to practice in accord with their deeply held moral convictions. Developing a properly formed conscience, which is the voice of God, is essential in dealing with these contemporary issues and making right choices. This essay outlines the process for properly forming the conscience. It also explains why prescribing contraception is morally wrong.
178 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF JURISPRUDENCE (1991) arguments in the encyclical, except in the most ... more 178 THE AMERICAN JOURNAL OF JURISPRUDENCE (1991) arguments in the encyclical, except in the most minimal way.2 In spite of their strong affirmation of Church teaching, these ethicists do not employ the traditional natural law arguments of the Church, arguments that ...
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