Fragmentation and Consensus : Communitarian and Casuist Bioethics / Mark G. Kuczewski.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kuczewski, Mark G., author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Bioethics.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xi, 177 p. )

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Washington, DC : Georgetown University Press, [1997]

Language Note:

English

Summary:

Both communitarianism and casuistry have sought to restore ethics as a practical science-the former by incorporating various traditions into a shared definition of the common good, the latter by considering the circumstances of each situation through critical reasoning. Mark G. Kuczewski analyzes the origins and methods of these two approaches and forges from them a new unified approach. This approach takes the communitarian notion of the person as its starting point but also relies upon the narrative and analogical tools of case-based reasoning. He separates out the rhetoric that is incongruent with the Aristotelian aspirations of each method to show that the two are complementary, and that consensus can emerge from fragmentation. He then applies his resulting method to three major problems in bioethics: the difficulties that the issue of personal identity poses for advance directives, the role of the family in medical decision making, and the refusal of treatment because of religious beliefs. He analyzes the need to assume a communitarian notion of the person as a starting point for the application of casuistic insights. Combining theoretical, practical, and scholarly insights, this book will be of interest to philosophers, political and social scientists, and bioethicists.

Contents:

Cover

Contents

Acknowledgments

Chapter 1: How Medicine and Aristotle May Yet Save the Life of Ethics

TENSION BETWEEN COMMUNITARIAN AND CASUIST: A CASE OF SIBLING RIVALRY?

SIMILARITIES AMONG THE NEO-ARISTOTELIANS: THE IMPORTANCE OF PRACTICE AND SOCIAL ROLE

PROCEDURE: ARISTOTELIAN ASPIRATIONS AS THE KEY TO PROGRESS

POSTSCRIPT: WHOM TO PONDER AND THE ROLE OF BIOETHICS

NOTES

Chapter 2: The Origins and Methods of Communitarianism

ORIGIN 1: MACINTYRE'S ORIGIN-CONTRA-BABEL

METHOD 1: THE "WHOLE TRADITION VIEW" OF COMMUNITARIANISM

ORIGIN 2: SANDEL'S ORIGIN-CONTRA-LIBERALISM

METHOD 2: COMMUNITARIANISM AS MUTUAL SELF-DISCOVERY

CONCLUSION

Chapter 3: The Origins and Methods of Casuistry

ORIGIN 1: THE ORIGIN-CONTRA-THOMISM

METHOD 1: CASUISTRY AS A FREESTANDING METHOD OF PARADIGMS AND CASES

ORIGIN 2: CASUISTRY AS A REJECTION OF A TYRANNY OF PRINCIPLES

METHOD 2: CASUISTRY AS KINETIC TAXONOMY

CHALLENGES TO CASUISTRY AS KINETIC TAXONOMY

Chapter 4: Communitarianism, Casuistry, and Ethical Truth

COMMUNITARIANISM AND TRUTH

WHOLE TRADITION COMMUNITARIANISM: ETHICAL TRUTH AS A SHARED VISION OF THE GOOD LIFE

ETHICAL TRUTH AS MUTUAL SELF-DISCOVERY

CASUISTRY AND TRUTH: BUILDING ON PARADIGMS AND CASES

CASUISTRY AND TRUTH: PRACTICAL WISDOM, NARRATIVE, AND KINETIC TAXONOMY

THE CONVERGENCE OF FRAGMENTATION: A COMMUNITARIAN CASUISTRY

Chapter 5: Applications of a Communitarian Casuistry in Bioethics

1. THE PROBLEM OF ADVANCE DIRECTIVES AND PERSONAL IDENTITY

2. THE PROBLEM OF THE FAMILY IN MEDICAL DECISION MAKING

3. ONE CASE, TWO TALES: THE PROBLEM OF RELIGIOUSLY BASED TREATMENT REFUSALS

EPILOGUE

Literature Cited

Name Index

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

I

J

K

L

M

N

P

Q

R

S.

T

W

Subject Index.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (p. 163-168) and indexes.

Bibliographic Level Mode of Issuance: Monograph

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9781589013247

1589013247

9780585245546

0585245541