Cooperation in the Culture of Death
The article reflects on the nature of moral choices and acts that participate in what John Paul II identified as a “culture of death.” As social beings, our actions are tied to a “chain of cooperators” (i.e., fellow agents), and because of these unavoidable connections, Noonan argues that assessing...
| Main Author: | |
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| Format: | Electronic Article |
| Language: | English |
| Check availability: | HBZ Gateway |
| Journals Online & Print: | Drawer...
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| Fernleihe: | Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste |
| Published: |
Sage Publ.
2021
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| In: |
Theological studies
Year: 2021, Volume: 82, Issue: 1, Pages: 55-68 |
| Further subjects: | B
Capital Punishment
B John Paul II B culture of death B gun manufacturing B Alphonsus Liguori B formal and material cooperation |
| Online Access: |
Volltext (lizenzpflichtig) |
| Summary: | The article reflects on the nature of moral choices and acts that participate in what John Paul II identified as a “culture of death.” As social beings, our actions are tied to a “chain of cooperators” (i.e., fellow agents), and because of these unavoidable connections, Noonan argues that assessing whether or how a particular act culpably cooperates in a culture of death requires a casuist regard. He shows how casuists like Alphonsus Liguori, when assessing situations that force upon individuals the choice between costly self-sacrifice or acting so as to contribute to undesirable evils, took account of the human agent’s fallen context and the particularities of the case—including intention, proximity, foreseeable results, and the gravity of those results—to argue for the liceity of the less heroic alternative.This article was originally given as an address under the same title at the University of Notre Dame’s Center of Ethics and Culture in 2000. Noonan’s examination of how our actions cooperate, or not, in a culture of death remains as valuable for us today as it was when he first delivered it. The journal expresses its gratitude to Cathleen Kaveny for bringing this work to our attention and to Mary Lee Noonan, the late judge’s widow, for allowing us to publish it. The original text has been lightly edited to bring it into conformity with journal style, correct minor typos, and supply missing details in Noonan’s bibliographic references. In addition, the editors have added a few contemporary updates (noted as such). |
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| ISSN: | 2169-1304 |
| Contains: | Enthalten in: Theological studies
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| Persistent identifiers: | DOI: 10.1177/0040563921997496 |