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The Structure of Theological Revolutions: How the Fight Over Birth Control Transformed American Catholicism
On July 29, 1968, Pope Paul VI ended years of discussion and study by Catholic theologians and bishops by issuing an encyclical on human sexuality and birth control entitled Humanae Vitae : "On Human Life." That document, which declared that "each and every marriage act must remain open to the transmission of life," lead to widespread dissent and division within the Church, particularly in the United States. The divide that Humanae Vitae opened up is still with us today.
Mark Massa argues that American Catholics did not simply ignore and dissent from the encyclical's teachings on birth control, but that they also began to question the entire system of natural law theology that had undergirded Catholic thought since the days of Aquinas. Natural law is central to Catholic theology, as some of its most important teachings on issues such as birth control, marriage, and abortion rest on natural law arguments. Drawing inspiration from Thomas Kuhn's classic work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , Massa argues that Humanae Vitae caused a paradigm shift in American Catholic thought, one that has had far-reaching repercussions.
How can theology-the study of God, whose nature is imagined to be eternal and unchanging- change over time? This is the essential question that The Structure of Theological Revolutions sets out to answer. Massa makes the controversial claim that Roman Catholic teaching on a range of important issues is considerably more provisional and arbitrary than many Catholics think.
Mark Massa argues that American Catholics did not simply ignore and dissent from the encyclical's teachings on birth control, but that they also began to question the entire system of natural law theology that had undergirded Catholic thought since the days of Aquinas. Natural law is central to Catholic theology, as some of its most important teachings on issues such as birth control, marriage, and abortion rest on natural law arguments. Drawing inspiration from Thomas Kuhn's classic work The Structure of Scientific Revolutions , Massa argues that Humanae Vitae caused a paradigm shift in American Catholic thought, one that has had far-reaching repercussions.
How can theology-the study of God, whose nature is imagined to be eternal and unchanging- change over time? This is the essential question that The Structure of Theological Revolutions sets out to answer. Massa makes the controversial claim that Roman Catholic teaching on a range of important issues is considerably more provisional and arbitrary than many Catholics think.
228 pages, Hardcover
Published August 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
July 25, 2018
Massa provides a much needed book on a question that - because of its many emotionally charged facets - has not been sufficiently discussed within a contemporary context. It investigates the impact, on Catholic moral theology, of Paul VI's encyclical Humanae Vitae (HV). In this Massa expands a chapter of his earlier book The American Catholic Revolution, which charted the impact of Vatican II on the development of historical consciousness among American Catholics.
Massa uses Thomas Kuhn's philosophy of science as a lens by which to examine the evolution of Catholic moral theology, especially discourse concerning the natural law in the wake of HV. Massa's reading of Kuhn avoids an extreme anti-realist position, reading Kuhn in manner similar to Hilary Putnam's notion of internal realism. For Massa, Kuhn's philosophy of science is perspectival rather than relativistic: Rival perspectives reach truth but are inevitably unable to capture some truths elaborated in alternative viewpoints. This is not an implausible view to adopt, especially in a field such as moral theology. Massa's view of Kuhn contrasts with Alasdair MacIntyre's quasi-Kuhnian theory of traditions. For MacIntyre, traditions are partially incommensurable but over time are also progressive since superior traditions avoid the resourcelessness of failed or failing traditions. Regardless of this difference, Massa's Kuhn provides a plausible lens for viewing intellectual disagreement in the short term.
According to Massa, few really accepted the type of natural law argument offered by HV, what Massa views as essentially a form of physicalism, where natural processes are deemed to be normatively binding on behavior. Thus, interfering with sexual act - be it through physical or chemical means - is deemed 'unnatural.' The difficulties with a view such as this are immediately apparent whenever one causally reaches for an aspirin to alleviate a headache. Aspirin is clearly 'unnatural' in this sense but what of it?
In response to the promulgation of a binding papal document forbidding artificial contraception, employing arguments widely recognized to be implausible, Massa outlines the natural law theories of a range of post-conciliar moral theologians. Including Charlie Curran, Germain Grisez, Jean Porter, and Lisa Sowle-Cahill. While summarizing, these positions, Massa contrasts each with physicalist paradigm, which serves as something of a foil for the novel position developed by each thinker. Despite interesting points raised by each chapter, important nuance is at times lost in these discussions. Without attempting to provide a summary of these summaries, I notes that the discussion of Curran is especially interesting concerning the ambiguity in Aquinas between nature as what humans share with animals and nature as reason. Interestingly, Martin Rhonheimer, a staunch opponent of Curran, makes much out of this distinction and favors a view similar to Curran's concerning the identification of nature and reason (notwithstanding disagreements concerning the nature of reason). Similarly the discussion of Porter concerning the distinction between procreation and union as different legitimate ends of marriage and its implications for prohibition on contraception is also very interesting and to the point.
Where the book could be strengthened would be the inclusion of a chapter discussing defenders of Paul's arguments in HV. There have been a number of authors that continue to support the physicalist reading and the picture supplied by this book does not at all elaborate on this reality. Similar the discussion of Cahill, who is something like the hero of the book, fails to note her similarity to the position of Alasdair MacIntyre. This is important not only because Cahill's position, a sort of critical realism, hailed by Massa as an incredible novelty, was actually most fully elaborated in relationship to the Catholic tradition by MacIntyre, but also because MacIntyre tends to well respected by theological conservatives, raising the potential for a dialogue between Catholic progressives and traditionalists. Regardless of this, Massa's book is essential reading.
Massa uses Thomas Kuhn's philosophy of science as a lens by which to examine the evolution of Catholic moral theology, especially discourse concerning the natural law in the wake of HV. Massa's reading of Kuhn avoids an extreme anti-realist position, reading Kuhn in manner similar to Hilary Putnam's notion of internal realism. For Massa, Kuhn's philosophy of science is perspectival rather than relativistic: Rival perspectives reach truth but are inevitably unable to capture some truths elaborated in alternative viewpoints. This is not an implausible view to adopt, especially in a field such as moral theology. Massa's view of Kuhn contrasts with Alasdair MacIntyre's quasi-Kuhnian theory of traditions. For MacIntyre, traditions are partially incommensurable but over time are also progressive since superior traditions avoid the resourcelessness of failed or failing traditions. Regardless of this difference, Massa's Kuhn provides a plausible lens for viewing intellectual disagreement in the short term.
According to Massa, few really accepted the type of natural law argument offered by HV, what Massa views as essentially a form of physicalism, where natural processes are deemed to be normatively binding on behavior. Thus, interfering with sexual act - be it through physical or chemical means - is deemed 'unnatural.' The difficulties with a view such as this are immediately apparent whenever one causally reaches for an aspirin to alleviate a headache. Aspirin is clearly 'unnatural' in this sense but what of it?
In response to the promulgation of a binding papal document forbidding artificial contraception, employing arguments widely recognized to be implausible, Massa outlines the natural law theories of a range of post-conciliar moral theologians. Including Charlie Curran, Germain Grisez, Jean Porter, and Lisa Sowle-Cahill. While summarizing, these positions, Massa contrasts each with physicalist paradigm, which serves as something of a foil for the novel position developed by each thinker. Despite interesting points raised by each chapter, important nuance is at times lost in these discussions. Without attempting to provide a summary of these summaries, I notes that the discussion of Curran is especially interesting concerning the ambiguity in Aquinas between nature as what humans share with animals and nature as reason. Interestingly, Martin Rhonheimer, a staunch opponent of Curran, makes much out of this distinction and favors a view similar to Curran's concerning the identification of nature and reason (notwithstanding disagreements concerning the nature of reason). Similarly the discussion of Porter concerning the distinction between procreation and union as different legitimate ends of marriage and its implications for prohibition on contraception is also very interesting and to the point.
Where the book could be strengthened would be the inclusion of a chapter discussing defenders of Paul's arguments in HV. There have been a number of authors that continue to support the physicalist reading and the picture supplied by this book does not at all elaborate on this reality. Similar the discussion of Cahill, who is something like the hero of the book, fails to note her similarity to the position of Alasdair MacIntyre. This is important not only because Cahill's position, a sort of critical realism, hailed by Massa as an incredible novelty, was actually most fully elaborated in relationship to the Catholic tradition by MacIntyre, but also because MacIntyre tends to well respected by theological conservatives, raising the potential for a dialogue between Catholic progressives and traditionalists. Regardless of this, Massa's book is essential reading.
September 1, 2020
A creative, insightful analysis of methods in moral theology since the 1960’s, specifically relating to natural law.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews