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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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640Metaphysical 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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35Double-Effect Reasoning (review)American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 83 (2): 295-298. 2009.
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149Varieties of Dualism: Swinburne and AquinasInternational Philosophical Quarterly 50 (1): 39-56. 2010.Thomas Aquinas argues that matter is informed by a rational soul to compose a human person. But a person may survive her body’s death since a rational soul is able to exist and function without matter. This leads to the typical characterization of Aquinas as a dualist. Thomistic dualism, however, is distinct from both Platonic dualism and various accounts of substance dualism offered by philosophers such as Richard Swinburne. For both Plato and Swinburne, a person is identical to an immaterial s…Read more
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25Battlestar Galactica and Philosophy: Knowledge Here Begins Out There (edited book)Wiley-Blackwell. 2008.This thought-provoking book examines the philosophical issues arising from the re-imagined Battlestar Galactica television series, revealing how the ragtag fleet's outward journey to Earth is also an inward exploration for the human survivors and their Cylon pursuers
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26Review of Theological Bioethics: Participation, Justice, and Change by Lisa Sowle Cahill (review)American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 83 (4): 615-618. 2009.
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116Aquinas's account of human embryogenesis and recent interpretationsJournal of Medicine and Philosophy 30 (4). 2005.In addressing bioethical issues at the beginning of human life, such as abortion, in vitro fertilization, and embryonic stem cell research, one primary concern regards establishing when a developing human embryo or fetus can be considered a person. Thomas Aquinas argues that an embryo or fetus is not a human person until its body is informed by a rational soul. Aquinas's explicit account of human embryogenesis has been generally rejected by contemporary scholars due to its dependence upon mediev…Read more
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55Religious and Secular Perspectives on the Value of SufferingThe National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 12 (2): 251-261. 2012.Advocates of active euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide argue that a patient’s intractable pain and suffering are a sufficient justification for his life to end if he autonomously so chooses. Others hold that the non-utilization of life-sustaining treatment, the use of pain-relieving medication that may hasten a patient’s death, and palliative sedation may be morally acceptable means of alleviating pain and suffering. How a patient should be cared for when approaching the end of life invol…Read more
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31" If You Could Cure Cancer by Killing One Person, Wouldn't You Have to Do That?"In Sandra Shapshay (ed.), Bioethics at the movies, Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 297. 2009.
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50Exercising Restraint in the Creation of Animal–Human ChimerasAmerican Journal of Bioethics 8 (6). 2008.No abstract
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44Cultivating the Virtue of Acknowledged ResponsibilityProceedings of the American Catholic Philosophical Association 82 249-261. 2008.In debates over issues such as abortion, a primary principle on which the Roman Catholic outlook is based is the natural law mandate to respect human life rooted in the Aristotelian philosophy of Thomas Aquinas. This principle, however, is limited by focusing on the obligation not to kill innocent humans and thereby neglects another important facet of the Aristotelian-Thomistic ethical viewpoint—namely, obligations that bind human beings in relationships of mutual dependence and responsibility. …Read more
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713Thomistic Principles and BioethicsRoutledge. 2006.Alongside a revival of interest in Thomism in philosophy, scholars have realised its relevance when addressing certain contemporary issues in bioethics. This book offers a rigorous interpretation of Aquinas's metaphysics and ethical thought, and highlights its significance to questions in bioethics. Jason T. Eberl applies Aquinas’s views on the seminal topics of human nature and morality to key questions in bioethics at the margins of human life – questions which are currently contested in the a…Read more
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33Advancing the Case for Organ ProcurementAmerican Journal of Bioethics 9 (8): 22-23. 2009.No abstract
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22Star Wars: The Force AwakensPhilosophy Now 115 48-50. 2016.Philosophical review of themes in 'Star Wars - Episode VII: The Force Awakens' by the co-editors of 'Star Wars and Philosophy' and 'The Ultimate Star Wars and Philosophy.'
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32Star Wars and Philosophy: More Powerful Than You Can Possibly Imagine (edited book)Open Court. 2005.The essays in this volume tackle the philosophical questions from these blockbuster films including: Was Anakin predestined to fall to the Dark Side? Are the Jedi truly role models of moral virtue? Why would the citizens and protectors of a democratic Republic allow it to descend into a tyrannical empire? Is Yoda a peaceful Zen master or a great warrior, or both? Why is there both a light and a dark side of the Force? Star Wars and Philosophy ponders the depths of these subjects and asks what it…Read more
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28Personal Identity and Resurrection: How Do We Survive Our Death? Edited by Georg Gasser (review)American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 87 (4): 781-785. 2013.
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34Human Dignity in the Biotech Century (review)American Catholic Philosophical Quarterly 81 (3): 510-512. 2007.
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14Extraordinary Care and the Spiritual Goal of LifeThe National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 5 (3): 491-501. 2005.
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30What Dignitas personae does not sayThe National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 10 (1): 89-110. 2010.Dignitas personae has garnered significant attention both inside and outside Roman Catholic circles, but it lacks the argumentative force not only to present the Church’s ethical judgment but also to persuade non-sympathetic readers. More direct engagement with contrary views would provide a stronger foundation for constructing arguments in public discourse. This article highlights various assertions found in Dignitas personae which call for greater explicit argumentation. Subjects treated inclu…Read more
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27The Complex Nature of Jewish and Catholic BioethicsAmerican Journal of Bioethics 9 (11): 31-32. 2009.
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114Aquinas on Euthanasia, Suffering, and Palliative CareThe National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 3 (2): 331-354. 2003.Euthanasia, today, is one of the most debated issues in bioethics. Euthanasia, at the time of Thomas Aquinas, was an unheard-of term. Nevertheless, while there is no direct statement with respect to “euthanasia” per se in the writings of Aquinas, Aquinas’s moral theory and certain theological commitments he held could be applied to the euthanasia question and thus bring Aquinas into contemporary bioethical debate. In this paper, I present the relevant aspects of Aquinas’s account of natural la…Read more
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20Review of John P. Lizza. Persons, Humanity, and the Definition of Death.1 (review)American Journal of Bioethics 7 (3): 55-57. 2007.
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6Review of Thomas Aquinas: Teacher and Scholar ed. James McEvoy, Michael W. Dunne and Julia Hynes (review)Philosophy 88 (1): 164-169. 2013.
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86Fetuses Are Neither Violinists nor ViolatorsAmerican Journal of Bioethics 10 (12): 53-54. 2010.This Article does not have an abstract
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43Dualist and Animalist Perspectives on DeathThe National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly 7 (3): 477-489. 2007.In this essay, I outline two contemporary metaphysical accounts of human nature—substance dualism and biological reductionism, also known as “animalism”—by elucidating the views of two representative theorists. I show how these two accounts conceive of death and which criteria for determining death--higher brain, whole-brain, or cardiopulmonary--each advocates. I will then contrast these accounts with Thomas Aquinas’s view of human nature and death.