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Personalism and Persons

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In my last piece, I introduced a philosophy of human nature called personalism. I said personalism referred to any anthropology or morality that looks to personhood as the outstanding attribute of human beings, the attribute which invests them with special value. In this piece I look at personhood itself. What does it mean when we say human beings are persons, and why does it matter? Read

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World Leaders And The Media

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Pope Francis and President Trump walk into a bar. There’s a duck sitting on a stool watching the nightly news. The President and the Pope pull up stools on either side of the duck. “What are they saying about him?” the President asks the duck as he nods to the Pope. “They are praising him for upending Catholic orthodoxy,” says the duck. “And what are they saying about him?” the Pope asks the duck, pointing to the President. “They are condemning him for challenging liberal orthodoxy.” “And what do you think?” the two leaders ask the duck. “I think… Read

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Personalism: Harmony between Anthropology and Morality

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The way we understand humans shapes the way we think about many things, especially our morality. If we look at the various moralities on loan from the history of philosophy, we see that they all aim to elucidate a common problem, the problem of human happiness. For Plato, happiness came from wisdom; for Aristotle, from virtue; for classical Hindus, it is freedom from desire; and for many in Jacksonville Beach, where I live, it comes from a burnished and bronzed body that has no more than 13% body fat. How do we best understand ourselves so that the happiness we seek can be rightly found?

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Gender Confusion In Our Families: How Does One Respond?

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The push by some segments of society to gain acceptance of the notion that a person has the right, and even duty, to define himself in whatever manner he feels is fitting has resulted in an increased number of people who are personally acquainted with someone not living in accord with his or her birth-sex. So, when neighbors, friends or family members say their child is “transgender,” how should one respond in a helpful and positive way?

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In Vitro Fertilization and the Welfare of Human Embryos

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In my bioethical work over the past twenty years, I have found the morality of in vitro fertilization (IVF) to be one of the most difficult issues for sincere people to grasp. One reason is that IVF involves bringing life into existence. People often have a niece or nephew or grandchild conceived that way. They love these children and feel the world is a better place because of them. Anything that casts doubt on the morality of their conception causes them to feel defensive. And yet, the ethical problems raised by IVF only continue to get worse. Read

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How Not To Do Bioethical Reasoning

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Last month, the prestigious AMA Journal of Ethics published an article entitled: Why Crisis Pregnancy Centers [CPCs] Are Legal but Unethical, arguing that religious ideology motivates CPCs to engage in a campaign of deception against vulnerable women in order to undermine the noble aims of abortion clinics. While the essay is a good example of secular thinking, it is also a particularly good example of bad ethical reasoning. Hence, it may be instructive to review its arguments in order to see where its weaknesses lie. Read

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Parents’ Rights In A Gendered World

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“Parents of a 17-year-old girl lost custody of their daughter for opposing her wish for transgender medical treatments” reads the headline. In reaching its decision, the court relied on medical professionals who testified that: “the father’s ongoing refusal to call the child by his (sic) chosen name and the parents’ rejection of the teen’s gender identity have triggered suicidal feelings…. He (sic) has been diagnosed with depression, anxiety disorder, and gender dysphoria, according to court records.” Removing the child from her parents’ custody, the court concluded, was in her best interest. Read

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Does Following Our Conscience Make Something Right?

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The allied judges at Nuremburg had little sympathy for the reply, “I was just following orders.” What if the defendants had said, “I was just following my conscience?” Would that have made a difference? Would it have made what they did right? We often treat an appeal to conscience as a justification for our behavior. Does conscience really justify? Read

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Natural Law for Dummies – Part II

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My description of the natural law in Part I as the naturally knowable law of right and wrong is likely to prompt an objection. How can the idea of a moral law known to all people square with the undeniable fact of widespread moral disagreement between sincere and thoughtful people? If everyone can know, for example, that sex is right and good and humanly fulfilling only in marriage, why do so many people seem not to know it? Read

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Natural Law For Dummies – Part I

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Western ethical tradition, as far back as Aristotle and even further, has acknowledged that moral truth exists; that its existence does not depend upon the customs or opinions of individuals or groups; that people can know it exists and so know the difference between right and wrong; that its knowability is, as it were, part of the order of the universe; and that all people are bound to obedience to this natural moral order, even if their obedience causes them rejection, suffering and even death. Read

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