Robert Cavalier
Philosophy Department
Carnegie Mellon
Part I History of Ethics
Preface: The
Life of Socrates
Section 1:
Greek Moral Philosophy
Section 2:
Hellenistic and Roman Ethics
Section 3:
Early Christian Ethics
Section 4: Modern
Moral Philosophy
Section 5: 20th
Century Analytic Moral Philosophy
Part II Concepts and Problems
Preface: Meta-ethics,
Normative Ethics and Applied Ethics
Section 1:
Ethical Relativism
Section 2:
Ethical Egoism
Section 3:
Utilitarian Theories
Section 4: Deontological
Theories
Section 5: Virtue
Ethics
Section 6: Liberal
Rights and Communitarian Theories
Section 7: Ethics
of Care
Section 8: Case-based
Moral Reasoning
Section 9: Moral
Pluralism
Part III Applied Ethics
Preface: The
Field of Applied Ethics
Section 1:
The Topic of Euthanasia
Multimedia
Module: A Right to Die? The Dax
Cowart Case
Section 2:
The Topic of Abortion
Multimedia
Module: The Issue of Abortion in
America
Postscript:
Conflict Resolution
Case Theory, Practice, Casuistry
Theoretical and Practical ArgumentsREAL SITUATIONS are more COMPLEX than typical examples reveal. Certainly an ABSOLUTIST approach is TOO RIGID and a complete RELATIVIST TOO OPEN.
Furthermore, real world problems often show the LIMITS of MERELY APPLYING a 'utilitarian calculus' or a 'set of rules.'
There are also cases in which people of GOOD CONSCIENCE even DISAGREE about which prima facie duties are applicable or which have an overriding force.
This doesn't mean that discussions about moral theory are fruitless, but it does imply that the movement from 'theory' to 'practice' is not simply a matter of 'application.' [Jonsen and Toulmin provide the background for this section.]
Theoretical Arguments
THEORETICAL ARGUMENTS are NOT DEPENDENT on the CIRCUMSTANCES of their presentation. Their VALIDITY is NOT AFFECTED by the PRACTICAL CONTEXT of their use:
Practical Arguments
PRACTICAL ARGUMENTS draw on the outcomes of PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE, carrying over PROCEDURES USED TO RESOLVE EARLIER PROBLEMS and REAPPLYING THEM in NEW PROBLEMATIC SITUATIONS.
CASUISTRY is a form of PRACTICAL ARGUMENT that explores the RELATIONSHIP between assumed MORAL PARADIGMS (prima facie duties) and PROBLEMATIC INSTANCES (difficult cases).
A Brief History of Casuistry
Cicero and the Nature of Classical Rhetoric
-
In "On Duty" the Roman Marcus Cicero (106 - 43 BC) wrote the
first 'case book' on situations where 'conflicts of duty' appear to
arise.
-
We need to consider "what is most needful in each individual case,"
he wrote, and that "different circumstances should be carefully
scrutinized in every instance" (AC p. 79)
-
In "On Invention" Cicero states that the major activity of
rhetoric is "...the discovery of true or apparently true arguments
that will render one's case plausible" (AC p. 85).
-
The elements of classical rhetoric included:
-
Concentration on the PARTICULAR SITUATION about which there was an
UNRESOLVED CONTROVERSY;
Discussion of the PRIMA FACIE DUTIES that were relevant to the situation;
Presentation of ARGUMENTS that were appropriate to either side; and
A move toward RESOLUTION in arriving at a verdict or judgment.
-
The Penitentials
-
From around the 6th Century AD individual confession and penance became
customary in the Church. And books written to guide the clergy and the
faithful became the first example of Medieval Casuistry.
-
Excerpts from a 'Penitential' reveal the concern with 'the circumstances
of the case':
-
"Not all persons are to be weighed in one and the same balance,
although they be associated in one fault, but there shall be discrimination
for each of these, rich and poor; freeman or slave; small child...or
old man; stupid or intelligent; layman...or monk;...married or unmarried;
pilgrim, virgin ... or nun; the weak, sick or well.
"The priest shall [also] make a distinction for the character of the sins or of the men -- under compulsion or voluntary; the time and place, and so on" (AC p. 97)
-
The medieval term for 'casuistry' is translated from casus conscientitae
or 'cases of conscience.' It involved the study and discussion of difficult
cases, cases that would provoke a perplexed conscience. Pope Gregory
I (540-604) noted that the text in the Book of Job, "the sinews
of Behemoth's testicles are tightly entwined (perplexi)...," indicated
that the temptations of the Devil are such as to cause 'perplexity'
to good people (AC p. 95).
-
These kinds of cases required both a practical and theological understanding
of terms such as 'conscience,' 'prudence,' and 'circumstance.'
-
The Society of Jesus combined classical rhetoric with Christian case
studies and raised casuistry to new heights during the period from 1556
- 1656.
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In this period of rapid social, political and economic change, new 'cases
of conscience' were constantly being posed by new circumstances. For
example, conflicting loyalties caused by the Reformation.
-
The Jesuits were the first 'worldly' order -- they counseled the nobility
and the emerging mercantile class on public matters such as treaties
and social order and used casuistical methods throughout.
-
The "Provincial Letters" (1656) by Blaise Pascal attacked
the LAXITY caused by an excessive casuistry that seeks 'probable' opinions
on every side of a difficult case. The method of casuistry came to be
seen as a source of excuse-making.
-
Furthermore, the period of the Enlightenment began moving the 'foundations'
of morals and society away from religious 'orders.'
-
Specific attacks against the Jesuits and new philosophical movements
led to a decline of casuistry as a method for doing moral philosophy.
[By the end of the 19th Century, for example, the Cambridge "Knightbridge
Chair of Casuistic Divinity" evolved into the "Knightbridge
Chair of Moral Philosophy."]
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