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72A thomistic perspective on the beginning of personhood: ReduxBioethics 21 (5). 2007.Response to Jan Deckers' critique of the author's earlier article on the beginning of personhood from a Thomistic perspective in which the author revises and further refines his view.
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32Review of The American Thomistic Revival in the Philosophical Papers of R.J. Henle, S.J (review)American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 76 (2): 345-348. 2002.
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14Sons of Anarchy and Philosophy: Brains Before Bullets (edited book)Wiley-Blackwell. 2013._“Brains before bullets” – ancient and modern wisdom for “mechanics and motorcycle enthusiasts”_ Essential reading for fans of the show, this book takes readers deeper into the Sons of Anarchy Motorcycle Club, the Teller-Morrow family, and the ethics that surround their lives and activities. Provides fascinating moral insights into _Sons of Anarchy_, its key characters, plot lines and ideas Investigates compelling philosophical issues centering on loyalty, duty, the ethics of war, authority, rel…Read more
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94Potentiality, Possibility, and the Irreversibility of DeathReview of Metaphysics 62 (1): 61-77. 2008.This paper considers the issue of cryopreservation and the definition of death from an Aristotelian-Thomistic perspective. A central conceptual focus throughout this discussion is the purportedly irreversible nature of death and the criteria by which a human body is considered to be informed by a rational soul. It concludes that a cryopreserved corpse fails to have “life potentially in it” sufficient to satisfy Aristotle’s definition of ensoulment. Therefore, if the possibility that such a corps…Read more
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25Examines theism versus atheism as depicted in the re-imagined sci-fi series Battlestar Galactica.
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20Extraordinary Care and the Spiritual Goal of LifeThe National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 5 (3): 491-501. 2005.Kevin O’Rourke argues that Aquinas’s concept of a “spiritual goal of life,” to which Pius XII refers in his famous allocution of 1957, serves as a basis for declaring that certain treatments, such as artificial nutrition and hydration [ANH] for patients in a persistent vegetative state [PVS], are “extraordinary” and thus morally optional. I examine whether O’Rourke properly interprets Aquinas’s concept in this regard and conclude that he is correct in his assessment and that ANH is properly und…Read more
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13The Ultimate Star Trek and Philosophy: The Search for Socrates (edited book)Wiley-Blackwell. 2016.Reunites the editors of Star Trek and Philosophy with Starfleet’s finest experts for 31 new, highly logical essays Features a complete examination of the Star Trek universe, from the original series to the most recent films directed by J.J. Abrams, Star Trek and Star Trek Into Darkness Introduces important concepts in philosophy through the vast array of provocative issues raised by the series, such as the ethics of the Prime Directive, Star Trek’s philosophy of peace, Data and Voyager’s Doctor …Read more
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13Catholic Bioethics for a New Millenium. By Anthony Fisher (review)American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 88 (1): 173-176. 2014.
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25Truly Human Enhancement: A Philosophical Defense of Limits, by Nicholas Agar (review)The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 15 (4): 781-784. 2015.
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72Aquinas on the Nature of Human BeingsReview of Metaphysics 58 (2): 333-365. 2004.IN THIS PAPER, I PROVIDE A FORMULATION of Thomas Aquinas’s account of the nature of human beings for the purpose of comparing it with other accounts in both the history of philosophy and contemporary analytic philosophy. I discuss how his apparently dualistic understanding of the relationship between soul and body yields the conclusion that a human being exists as a unified substance composed of a rational soul informing, that is, serving as the specific organizing principle of, a physical body.…Read more
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18Reply to BeauchampIn Arthur L. Caplan & Robert Arp (eds.), Contemporary debates in bioethics, Wiley-blackwell. pp. 25--431. 2014.
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1593Foundation for a Natural Right to Health CareJournal of Medicine and Philosophy 36 (6): 537-557. 2011.Discussions concerning whether there is a natural right to health care may occur in various forms, resulting in policy recommendations for how to implement any such right in a given society. But health care policies may be judged by international standards including the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights. The rights enumerated in the UDHR are grounded in traditions of moral theory, a philosophical analysis of which is necessary in order to adjudicate the value of specific policies designed…Read more
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61Ontological Kinds Versus Biological SpeciesAmerican Journal of Bioethics 12 (9): 32-34. 2012.No abstract
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70Ford, Norman M., S.D.B. The Prenatal Person: Ethics from Conception to BirthThe National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 3 (1): 216-218. 2003.
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3Do human persons persist between death and resurrection?In Kevin Timpe (ed.), Metaphysics and God: Essays in Honor of Eleonore Stump, Routledge. 2009.Thomas Aquinas presents an account of human immortality and bodily resurrection intended to be both faithful to Christian Scripture and metaphysically sound as following from the Aristotelian view of human nature. One central question is whether a human person persists between death and resurrection by virtue of her soul, given Aquinas’s hylomorphic account of human nature and assertion that a human person is not identical to her soul. Robert Pasnau contends that only a part of a person exists …Read more
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15The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy: You Must Unlearn What You Have Learned (edited book)Wiley-Blackwell. 2015.Does it take faith to be a Jedi? Are droids capable of thought? Should Jar Jar Binks be held responsible for the rise of the Empire? Presenting entirely new essays, no aspect of the myth and magic of George Lucas’s creation is left philosophically unexamined in The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy. The editors of the original Star Wars and Philosophy strike back in this Ultimate volume that encompasses the complete Star Wars universe Presents the most far-reaching examination of the philosophy …Read more
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66A Thomistic understanding of human deathBioethics 19 (1). 2005.I investigate Thomas Aquinas's metaphysical account of human death, which is defined in terms of a rational soul separating from its material body. The question at hand concerns what criterion best determines when this separation occurs. Aquinas argues that a body has a rational soul only insofar as it is properly organised to support the soul's vegetative, sensitive, and rational capacities. According to the ‘higher‐brain’ concept of death, when a body can no longer provide the biological found…Read more
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2Thomism and the beginning of personhoodIn John P. Lizza (ed.), Defining the beginning and end of life: readings on personal identity and bioethics, Johns Hopkins University Press. 2009.In addressing bioethical issues at the beginning of human life, such as abortion, human embryonic stem cell research, and therapeutic cloning, a primary concern is to establish when a developing human embryo or fetus can be considered a “person”; for it is typically held that only persons are the subjects of moral rights, such as a “right to life.” The 13th century philosopher and theologian Thomas Aquinas defines a person as “an individual substance of a rational nature” (ST Ia.29.1); he fur…Read more
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26Aquinas (review)Review of Metaphysics 58 (1): 196-197. 2004.Eleonore Stump provides a clear and thorough treatment of some of the main philosophical themes that characterize Aquinas’s vast corpus in a way that allows his thought to be situated among contemporary philosophers and their ideas. This approach allows Stump to address certain criticisms that have been raised against Aquinas’s views as well as the medieval Christian approach to philosophy in general. The proper consideration owed to Aquinas as a key figure in the history of philosophy is given …Read more
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32There are No Circumstances in Which a Doctor May Withhold InformationIn Arthur L. Caplan & Robert Arp (eds.), Contemporary debates in bioethics, Wiley-blackwell. pp. 25--418. 2014.This essay focuses on cases in which a physician elects to withhold, either temporarily or permanently, certain information from a patient for arguably beneficent reasons. That is, the physician is not being self-serving, to herself or her institution, by not revealing this information. Rather, the goal is purely to promote what the physician believes to be in the patient’s best interest by withholding information that may be harmful to him. This practice of informational guardianship is known a…Read more
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33Review of Enhancing Human Capacities edited by Julian Savulescu, Ruud ter Meulen, and Guy Kahane (review)The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 13 (3): 565-567. 2013.
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38Creating non-human persons: Might it be worth the risk?American Journal of Bioethics 7 (5). 2007.This Article does not have an abstract
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94A Thomistic appraisal of human enhancement technologiesTheoretical Medicine and Bioethics 35 (4): 289-310. 2014.Debate concerning human enhancement often revolves around the question of whether there is a common “nature” that all human beings share and which is unwarrantedly violated by enhancing one’s capabilities beyond the “species-typical” norm. I explicate Thomas Aquinas’s influential theory of human nature, noting certain key traits commonly shared among human beings that define each as a “person” who possesses inviolable moral status. Understanding the specific qualities that define the nature of h…Read more
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28Star Trek and PhilosophyOpen Court. 2007.Philosophy and space travel are characterized by the same fundamental purpose: exploration. An essential guide for both philosophers and Trekkers, Star Trek and Philosophy combines a philosophical spirit of inquiry with the beloved television and film series to consider questions not only about the scientific prospects of interstellar travel but also the inward journey to examine the human condition. The expansive topics range from the possibilities for communication among different cultural bac…Read more
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642Metaphysical and Moral Status of Cryopreserved EmbryosThe Linacre Quarterly 79 (3): 304-315. 2012.Those who oppose human embryonic stem cell research argue for a clear position on the metaphysical and moral status of human embryos. This position does not differ whether the embryo is present inside its mother’s reproductive tract or in a cryopreservation tank. It is worth examining, however, whether an embryo in “suspended animation” has the same status as one actively developing in utero. I will explore this question from the perspective of Thomas Aquinas’s metaphysical account of human natu…Read more
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52Pomponazzi and Aquinas on the Intellective SoulModern Schoolman 83 (1): 65-77. 2005.One of Thomas Aquinas’s primary philosophical concerns is to provide an account of the nature of a human soul. He bases his account on Aristotle’s De anima, wherein Aristotle gives an account of “soul” (psuchē) as divided into three distinct types: vegetative, sensitive, and intellective. Aristotle defines an intellective soul as proper to human beings and the only type of soul that may potentially exist separated from a material body. Aquinas argues that an intellective soul is indeed sepa…Read more
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21Review of Human Capacities and Moral Status by Russell DiSilvestro (review)The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 11 (3): 586-588. 2011.
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18Double-Effect Reasoning (review)American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 83 (2): 295-298. 2009.