Goal-Oriented Ethics: Framing the Goal-Setting Concretely
Journal Title: Religions - Year 2017, Vol 8, Issue 10
Abstract
Joseph Selling, professor emeritus from KU Leuven, Belgium, recently made a significant contribution towards ethical methodology. It is in fact a continuation of the in-house conversations that have been in vogue about methods in moral reasoning since Vatican II in the discipline called theological ethics. What is specific about Selling’s attempt is that he re-orients or reframes the evaluation of the moral event to consider human intentionality or motivation before considering human behavior or human acts. He convincingly establishes his method by a meticulous reading of Thomas Aquinas. This paper is a response to the goal-oriented ethics that he has posited. As illustrated below, this paper evaluates the goal-oriented approach as solid and sufficient. While fully endorsing this approach, this paper argues that the process of ethical goal-setting is to be framed concretely. In a concrete historical context, so that a goal-oriented approach fully serves its purpose, this paper proposes that it is to be reinforced by four supportive pillars, which are in fact assumed by Selling in his work. They are openness to human sciences, conversation among various narratives, positing a theological frame for ethical reasoning, and recourse to non-discursive reasoning.
Authors and Affiliations
Mathew Illathuparampil
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP25820
- DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/rel8100228
- Views 292
- Downloads 9
Promoting the Everyday: Pro-Sharia Advocacy and Public Relations in Ontario, Canada’s “Sharia Debate”
Why, in the midst of public debates related to religion, are unrepresentative orthodox perspectives often positioned as illustrative of a religious tradition? How can more representative voices be encouraged? Political...
Transcending Gender: Female Non-Buddhists’ Experiences of the Vipassana¯ Meditation Retreat
Female non-Buddhists have been writing detailed descriptions of their personal experiences in vipassana¯ meditation retreats since the 1960s. These memoirists relate to the English-speaking world their experience of th...
The Role of Religion and Acculturation in the Consumer Ethnocentrism of Turkish Immigrants in Germany
Researchers have invested much effort in the understanding of acculturation-relevant factors that influence immigrants’ psychological and socio-cultural adaptation. Factors that might have an impact on immigrants’ prod...
The Empirical Ties between Religious Motivation and Altruism in Foster Parents: Implications for Faith-Based Initiatives in Foster Care and Adoption
Amidst a crisis shortage of foster homes in the child welfare system, a number of innovative faith-based collaborations aimed at recruiting foster parents have recently emerged. It has been suggested that these collabo...
Teaching Augustine’s Confessions in the Context of Mercer’s Great Books Program
Students in Mercer University’s Great Books program read Augustine’s Confessions in the third semester of a seven-semester sequence. Their previous reading of Greek and Roman epics and philosophical treatises as well a...