One may well find the title itself a little strange with its reference to taking skepticism seriously, given that Adam Leite’s argument holds that skepticism can be dismissed without any epistemolo...

Chaplains who serve in a clinical context often minister to patients representing a wide variety of faiths. In order to offer the best pastoral care possible, the chaplain should first possess a set of personal theological convictions as a foundation for ministry. Second, he or she needs to be sensitive to the beliefs and practices of the patients. Third, it is vital to develop a relationship of acceptance and trust not only with patients under their care, but also with family (...) members and caregivers as well. At times, situations will arise that are purely religious or theological. In a clinical setting, however, the questions and problems that arise more often are both theological and ethical. It is beneficial for the chaplain to be involved in an ethics committee, where the specifics of each case can be discussed, and staff can offer counsel to patients and their families. This study examines issues that chaplains face at the bedside, such as terminal care, life-prolonging treatments, dementia, persistent vegetative state, and euthanasia/assisted suicide. We will discover that those who are involved in clinical pastoral ministry will be called upon to be a comforter, mediator, educator, ethicist, and counselor. (shrink)

The ethical care and treatment of persons with disabilities is important both for society and the church, but it can be challenging and daunting. The Georgetown principles and the counsel of Scripture can provide appropriate guidance. Nevertheless, the issues often remain difficult and sometimes confusing. It is vital to show mercy to dying patients—including those with disabilities. Withdrawing and withholding life-sustaining treatment can in some cases, however, be made prematurely, especially for disabled patients, largely because of a history of devaluing (...) such persons. John Kilner’s book, Dignity and Destiny: Humanity in the Image of God, contends that the divine image in humans, contrary to many, was not marred, damaged, or destroyed by sin. The image likewise is not defined by certain traits and capabilities. Misunderstandings of this have resulted in the disadvantaging of people with disabilities and a denial of their dignity. The present study summarizes and explores this aspect of Kilner’s thesis, including the biblical and ethical foundations. The case of a disabled patient, “Michael,” applies this understanding of the image and offers assistance for end-of-life decision-making for persons with disabilities. (shrink)

James Drane's More Humane Medicine: A Liberal Catholic Bioethics is an outstanding contribution to the study of bioethics in our day. Catholics and others who are interested in the issues discussed here will benefit from this masterful treatment. The author opens with a set of definitions, starting with what he means by a “more humane medicine.” Drane contends that a more humane medicine has become necessary and desired, but not because the traditional medical ethic as “a self-declared and self-imposed ethic, (...) outlining what noble service to others entails” is no longer valid. Rather he defines it as an advance on the traditional ethic; a “new foundation” based on a “lived set of obligations derived from a felt commitment to other persons … an ethics based on the relationship between doctors and patients and essentially an ethics of virtue.” Drane's work is a “liberal Catholic Bioethics” in which he challenges his own faith tradition, the Roman Catholic Church, on such topics as sexuality, birth control, abortion, cloning, stem cell research, aging and dying, and euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. The present article is a critical essay that analyzes the author's statements and conclusions. (shrink)

The aim of this article is neither to challenge nor to defend Isaiah Berlin’s thought but rather to identify the main influences on his concept of liberalism. Berlin’s justification for liberalism is distinctive in that it reflects influences of Romanticism and Augustinianism. Unlike some liberals, his liberalism does not reflect unambiguous confidence in the products of the Enlightenment. Berlin valued the freedom of expression and identity, yet he feared that these freedoms faced potential threats from both left and right. These (...) considerations led Berlin to found his liberalism on the notion of limited government, as is reflected in his bias towards negative, rather than positive, liberty. Negative liberty implies restraint on the part of the state in order to limit anything that might act as an impediment to individual freedom. In contrast, positive liberty implies that the state may have to be active even to the point of imposing restrictions on individual freedom in order to ameliorate effective limits on liberty imposed as a consequence of societal inequities. Berlin is justly deemed to have been one of the great political theorists of the twentieth century. Few, even among his critics, would deny this, and even those who disagree with Berlin’s conclusions would acknowledge that his framing of the questions and his references to history have elevated and enriched the debate on liberalism. (shrink)

Contains thought-provoking, personal stories of hardship and endurance from five towns in America’s collapsing industrial heartland. It focuses on the complex relationships between work, loss, and identity. Includes 48 plates of black and white photographs.

In addressing not only the Conciliarist controversy of his day but issues of civil and ecclesiastical government and challenges to the Church, from reform movements to the division between Catholic...

Excerpt from Studies in Philosophical Criticism and Construction In the following pages my aim is to illustrate the principles of philosophic method by endeavouring critically to establish certain fundamental principles or Grundbegriffe in the spheres of Psychology, Logic and Epistemology, Ethics and Metaphysics; in other words, to lay the foundation for a more complete structure in each of these three branches of Philosophy. This double aim, however much it complicates the inquiry, is inevitable. A general discussion of philosophical method in (...) abstracto, without concurrently developing a general philosophical position, would seem to me to be futile even if it were possible. This is true of all branches of knowledge - true of the physical sciences as much as of any others. Generalisations as to scientific method - that is, as to the intellectual processes by which actual scientific results ought to be obtained - must assuredly be of very little value unless drawn in close connexion with concrete scientific work. But nowhere is the connexion more close than in Philosophy. Here, we cannot formulate our problems unless we are prepared with at least partial solutions. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works. (shrink)