The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning

by Albert R. Jonsen, Stephen Toulmin

In this engaging study, the authors put casuistry into its historical context, tracing the origin of moral reasoning in antiquity, its peak during the sixteenth and early seventeenth century, and its subsequent fall into disrepute from the mid-seventeenth century.

Genres: Philosophy, History

430 pages, Paperback

First published June 1, 1988

Reviews

[Caleb · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a necessary corrective for moral theologians and philosophers who often dismiss considerations of actual cases as mere "applied ethics." The authors show that any coherent moral tradition must spend much of its time considering both how moral concepts apply to actual situations and, more radically, how these situations serve as a certain measure of the adequacy of its moral concepts.

One wishes the authors had spent much more time explaining this moral radical claim. Doing this would likely require a much more adequate explanation of the role of moral theory in casuistry. Similarly one might ask about the authors' understanding of the justification of moral claims. Appeals to casuistry, while essential, seem to presuppose some conception of normativity that is prior to case analysis, a conception that makes ethical quandaries especially salient. Different conceptions of normativity are likely to have an important impact on one's understanding of casuistry but the others fail to address this question. Similarly much more space needs to be devoted to explaining the manner in which actions are properly described such that one can understand the authors' claim that Aristotle denied that their are essences in morals, a claim that Thomists will likely question.

Despite these limitations this book is more necessary now than ever. The history recounted in this book ought to inform the debate surrounding Amoris Laetitia ands its relationship to Veritatis Splendor, as should its emphatic defense of the practicality of ethics. Jonsen and Toulmin rightly remind us that ethics cannot be separated from actual cases and that ethicists must not shy away from appreciating and responding to the particularities of each case. Without casuistry, ethics becomes an intellectual exercise that is of little relevance.

[Jeff]

This might be too hard. But from what I have read about it, it's one of those huge contributions to our thinking. It will cost a mint, won't it. Maybe I can sneak into a uni library and read for an hour until my head hurts!

[Adam DeVille, Ph.D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

Given the title, you would not expect this to be such a deeply interesting book but it is. It treats moral reasoning in the West during the age of the casuists and manualists before the rise of the modern "ethicist." Fascinating.

[Vern Glaser · Rating 4 out of 5]

very interesting. well written, although academic...