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Civil rights and libertiesIn John Tasioulas (ed.), The Cambridge Companion to the Philosophy of Law, Cambridge University Press. 2020.
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Human dignity and natural lawIn Tom P. S. Angier, Iain T. Benson & Mark Retter (eds.), The Cambridge handbook of natural law and human rights, Cambridge University Press. 2022.
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Natural law, god, and human dignityIn Bryan T. McGraw, Jesse David Covington & Micah Joel Watson (eds.), Natural law and evangelical political thought, Lexington Books. 2013.
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5Natural Law EthicsIn Charles Taliaferro, Paul Draper & Philip L. Quinn (eds.), A Companion to Philosophy of Religion, Wiley‐blackwell. 2010.This chapter contains sections titled: Recommended readings.
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108The Ontological Status of Embryos: A Reply to Jason MorrisJournal of Medicine and Philosophy 39 (5): 483-504. 2014.In various places we have defended the position that a new human organism, that is, an individual member of the human species, comes to be at fertilization, the union of the spermatozoon and the oocyte. This individual organism, during the ordinary course of embryological development, remains the same individual and does not undergo any further substantial change, unless monozygotic twinning, or some form of chimerism occurs. Recently, in this Journal Jason Morris has challenged our position, cl…Read more
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64Response to: Is the pro-choice position for infanticide 'madness'?Journal of Medical Ethics 39 (5): 302-302. 2013.As Charles Camosy observes, he and I agree more than we disagree. He believes with no less conviction than I do that deliberately killing infant children is profoundly morally wrong and a grave violation of human rights.1 So where do we disagree?I think that killing infant children, or promoting the moral permissibility of doing so, is moral madness, and that we should say so, rather than treating infanticide as just one more legitimate, albeit in the end morally mistaken view. We owe this to po…Read more
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49Infanticide and madnessJournal of Medical Ethics 39 (5): 299-301. 2013.I am, of course, aware that infanticide was accepted and practiced in ancient Greece and Rome, and is still practiced in places like India and China today; just as I am aware that slavery was accepted and practiced in ancient Greece and Rome , and is still practiced in some places today. But if philosophers, no matter how sophisticated, were to step forward today to argue that slavery is morally acceptable , I would call that madness.Of course, the ‘madness’ I am referring to in condemning the a…Read more
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66Select this article Paper: Legal physician-assisted suicide in Oregon and The Netherlands: evidence concerning the impact on patients in vulnerable groups—another perspective on Oregon's dataJournal of Medical Ethics 37 (3): 171-174. 2011.Battin et al examined data on deaths from physician-assisted suicide in Oregon and on PAS and voluntary euthanasia in The Netherlands. This paper reviews the methodology used in their examination and questions the conclusions drawn from it—namely, that there is for the most part ‘no evidence of heightened risk’ to vulnerable people from the legalisation of PAS or VE. This critique focuses on the evidence about PAS in Oregon. It suggests that vulnerability to PAS cannot be categorised simply by r…Read more
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IntroductionIn George Duke & Robert P. George (eds.), The Cambridge companion to natural law jurisprudence, Cambridge University Press. 2017.
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Natural law, gopld and human dignityIn George Duke & Robert P. George (eds.), The Cambridge companion to natural law jurisprudence, Cambridge University Press. 2017.
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8The Cambridge companion to natural law jurisprudence (edited book)Cambridge University Press. 2017.
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7Second look at first things: a case for conservative politics: the Hadley Arkes festschrift (edited book)St. Augustine's Press. 2013.
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Postscript: A contest of worldviewIn David S. Dockery & John Stonestreet (eds.), Life, marriage, and religious liberty: what belongs to God, what belongs to Caesar, Fidelis Books. 2019.
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1Human dignity and natural lawIn Tom P. S. Angier, Iain T. Benson & Mark Retter (eds.), The Cambridge handbook of natural law and human rights, Cambridge University Press. 2022.
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17On Peter Simpson on “Illiberal Liberalism”American Journal of Jurisprudence 62 (1): 103-110. 2017.
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36The Nature and Basis of Human DignityRatio Juris 21 (2): 173-193. 2008.We argue that all human beings have a special type of dignity which is the basis for (1) the obligation all of us have not to kill them, (2) the obligation to take their well-being into account when we act, and (3) even the obligation to treat them as we would have them treat us, and indeed, that all human beings are equal in fundamental dignity. We give reasons to oppose the position that only some human beings, because of their possession of certain characteristics in addition to their humanit…Read more
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69Ontological and ethical implications of direct nuclear reprogramming: Response to Magill and neavesKennedy Institute of Ethics Journal 19 (1). 2009.The paper by Magill and Neaves in this issue of the Journal attempts to rebut the "natural potency" position, based on recent advances in direct reprogramming of somatic cells to yield "induced pluripotent stem" (iPS) cells. As stated by the authors, the natural potency position holds that because "a human embryo directs its own integral organismic function from its beginning . . . there is a whole, albeit immature, and distinct human organism that is intrinsically valuable with the status of in…Read more
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55Palliative opioid use, palliative sedation and euthanasia: reaffirming the distinctionJournal of Medical Ethics 46 (1): 48-50. 2020.We read with interest the extended essay published from Riisfeldt and are encouraged by an empirical ethics article which attempts to ground theory and its claims in the real world. However, such attempts also have real-world consequences. We are concerned to read the paper’s conclusion that clinical evidence weakens the distinction between euthanasia and normal palliative care prescribing. This is important. Globally, the most significant barrier to adequate symptom control in people with life-…Read more
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125Book Review: Civil Religion: A Dialogue in the History of Political Philosophy (review)Political Theory 40 (2): 246-249. 2012.
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18Conscience and Its EnemiesCatholic Social Science Review 18 281-288. 2013.The following is the text of an address delivered by Professor George at the twentieth anniversary conference of the Society of Catholic Social Scientists in New York, October 2012. George identifies the intellectual roots of recent threats to conscience rights—especially for people of faith—in the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology’s 2008 report that, he argues, makes ideological claims rather than using scientific evidence to support the denial of conscience rights to medical profes…Read more
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4Reason, Morality, and Law: The Philosophy of John Finnis (edited book)Oxford University Press UK. 2013.This volume gathers leading moral, legal, and political philosophers alongside theologians to examine John Finnis' work. The book offers the first sustained critical study of Finnis' contribution across the philosophy of rationality, legal and political philosophy, and theology. It includes a substantial response from Finnis himself in which he defends and develops his ideas.
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25Ethics, politics, and genetic knowledgeSocial Research: An International Quarterly 73 (3): 1029-1032. 2006.While we should acknowledge the blessings that genetic knowledge, and the biotechnologies it makes possible, have delivered or will deliver soon, there are urgent worries to consider. The first worry is that we may compromise, or further compromise, in both science and politics, the principle that every human being, irrespective of age, size, mental or physical condition, stage of development, or condition of dependency, possesses inherent worth and dignity and a right to life. The second worry,…Read more
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26Seeking Consensus: A Clarification and Defense of Altered Nuclear TransferHastings Center Report 36 (5): 42-50. 2006.
Areas of Interest
Ancient Greek and Roman Philosophy |
20th Century Philosophy |