Reflections on life, death, and the constitution / George Anastaplo.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Anastaplo, George, 1925-2014.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Law--Philosophy.

Law.

Constitutional law--United States.

Constitutional law.

United States.

Law and ethics.

Right to die--Law and legislation--United States.

Right to die.

Right to die--Law and legislation.

Capital punishment--United States.

Capital punishment.

Abortion--Law and legislation--United States.

Abortion.

Abortion--Law and legislation.

Physical Description:

xii, 299 pages ; 24 cm

Place of Publication:

Lexington, Ky. : University Press of Kentucky, [2009]

Summary:

In Reflections on Life, Death, and the Constitution, George Anastaplo investigates enduring issues concerning mortality and law, how branches of the American government handle these issues, and how they are addressed by the public. He explores how matters concerning life and death have been addressed throughout history-both prior to the formation of the United States and after. He also surveys efforts to balance individualism with citizenship and discusses cases in which religious doctrine is an important factor. In conjunction with Anastaplo's two previous books, Reflections on Freedom of Speech and the First Amendment and Reflections on Constitutional Law, this volume invites readers to contemplate various legal cases and how they can be usefully reconsidered, while also emphasizing the importance of the Constitution in developing concepts of right and wrong.

Contents:

Part 1

1 On Understanding the Others 3

2 Life and Not-Life in Thucydides' Funeral Oration 12

3 Death and Resurrection in Euripides' Bacchae 17

4 Resurrection and Death in Everyman 25

5 John Milton and the Limits of the Garden of Eden 31

6 Human Mortality and the Declaration of Independence 40

7 Time and the Constitution 46

8 Fyodor Dostoyevsky and the Modern Project 52

9 Public Health and Private Consciences 58

10 The Flag Salute Cases (1940, 1943) 65

11 Conscientious Objectors and Military Conscription 74

12 Obliteration Bombing, Civilian Casualties, and the Laws of War 82

13 Do All Somehow Aim at the Good? 91

Part 2

1 Shakespeare's Hamlet and the Elusiveness of the Good 99

2 Unconventional Religious Duties and the Good Life 104

3 Griswold v. Connecticut (1965) and the Prevention of Conception 115

4 Roe v. Wade (1973) and the Law of Abortion 122

5 Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) and the Persistence of the Abortion Issue 129

6 Capital Punishment and the United States Supreme Court 138

7 Capital Punishment Reconsidered 147

8 Nancy Cruzan and "The Right to Die" 156

9 Washington v. Glucksberg (1997) and Assisted Suicide 165

10 The Legislation of Morality and the Problem of Pain 172

11 Evolution and the Law 180

12 Life and Death in Abraham Lincoln's Gettysburg Address 193

13 The Unseemly Fearfulness of Our Time 199.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780813125336

0813125332

9780813192307

0813192307

OCLC:

261177648