Catholic Ethics in Today's World, Revised Edition

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$33.95
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Catholic Ethics in Today’s World is excellent for introducing students to moral reasoning in a genuinely theological context. The authors stress the positive dimension of ethics, quickly breaking through students’ stereotypes about Catholic ethics as rule-bound and constricting. The chapters on controversial issues present the reasoning behind official Catholic teaching very cogently, which sets just the right foundation for critical yet constructive dialogue in the classroom.”

Dr. Brian Stiltner
Associate Professor, Dept. of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Sacred Heart University

“Honest, accessible, and thorough: Catholic Ethics in Today’s World accomplishes a welcome but rare feat among current textbooks. Zalot and Guevin provide clear, accurate, and enthusiastic explorations of Catholic moral theology and social justice. Their examples involve realistic scenarios, and their willingness to incorporate the research and insight of their own undergraduate students only enhances the book’s accessibility. [Instructors] will appreciate [the authors’] patient explanation of the theology behind the well-known moral perspectives.”

Jeffrey Marlett
Professor of Religious Studies
College of Saint Rose

“This book engages college students on many levels. It explores philosophical and theological principles in Christian ethics and applies them to topics such as the economy, the death penalty, war and military activity, medical issues, and sexual ethics. The principles of Catholic Social Teaching provide a solid foundation for each topic. This well-researched and well-written book challenges students to grapple with the Catholic Church’’s perspective and their own stances.”

Dr. Elizabeth Willems, SSND
SSND, Instructor of Religious Studies
Loyola University New Orleans

About This Book

Overview

Designed as a Starting Point for Reflection on the Ethical Challenges We Face in the Contemporary World

Authors Jozef Zalot and Benedict Guevin, OSB, offer a pragmatic and insightful presentation on the compelling and sometimes misunderstood teachings of the Catholic Church on contemporary ethical issues. In their revised edition of Catholic Ethics in Today’s World, the authors further clarify their discussion on the Church’s stance on ethics, explicating Church teachings and expounding on the reasons behind those teachings. The authors also illuminate reasons for this confusion about what the Church teaches regarding challenging ethical dilemmas, among them the Church’s deficiency in clearly articulating official Church teachings for a lay audience, the media’s misinterpretation of those teachings, and the lack of ethics training for some educators.

To further clarify the Church’s teaching on ethics, in this revised edition the authors add material that addresses recent developments, most notably the thought-provoking ethical dilemmas centered on the nation’s recent recession, international debt relief, the continued fighting in Afghanistan, premarital sex and cohabitation, beginning of life issues, including federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, and end of life issues, including discussions on euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide. The authors’ intent is to explain Catholic teachings so that a clear ethics of morality can arise.

Details

Weight 0.75 lbs
Dimensions 5.375 × 1.5 × 8.25 in
Format

Softcover

Print ISBN

978-1-59982-102-3

Pages

302

Item # 7033

Customer Reviews

Catholic Ethics in Today’s World is excellent for introducing students to moral reasoning in a genuinely theological context. The authors stress the positive dimension of ethics, quickly breaking through students’ stereotypes about Catholic ethics as rule-bound and constricting. The chapters on controversial issues present the reasoning behind official Catholic teaching very cogently, which sets just the right foundation for critical yet constructive dialogue in the classroom.”

Dr. Brian Stiltner
Associate Professor, Dept. of Philosophy and Religious Studies
Sacred Heart University

“Honest, accessible, and thorough: Catholic Ethics in Today’s World accomplishes a welcome but rare feat among current textbooks. Zalot and Guevin provide clear, accurate, and enthusiastic explorations of Catholic moral theology and social justice. Their examples involve realistic scenarios, and their willingness to incorporate the research and insight of their own undergraduate students only enhances the book’s accessibility. [Instructors] will appreciate [the authors’] patient explanation of the theology behind the well-known moral perspectives.”

Jeffrey Marlett
Professor of Religious Studies
College of Saint Rose

“This book engages college students on many levels. It explores philosophical and theological principles in Christian ethics and applies them to topics such as the economy, the death penalty, war and military activity, medical issues, and sexual ethics. The principles of Catholic Social Teaching provide a solid foundation for each topic. This well-researched and well-written book challenges students to grapple with the Catholic Church’’s perspective and their own stances.”

Dr. Elizabeth Willems, SSND
SSND, Instructor of Religious Studies
Loyola University New Orleans

About the Authors

Jozef D. Zalot

Jozef Zalot is associate professor of religious studies at College of Mount Saint Joseph, Cincinnati, OH. He has also taught at Mount Marty College, Yankton Federal Prison, Marquette University, and other schools and colleges. He has authored books and articles in the field, has presented at numerous professional conferences and invited lectures, and is the recipient of many scholarships and fellowships. He received his PhD in religious studies from Marquette University.

Benedict Guevin, OSB

Benedict Guevin, OSB, is professor of moral theology at Saint Anselm College in Manchester, NH. Rev. Guevin holds an STD from the Institut Catholique de Paris and a PhD from the University of Paris. He has published many scholarly articles and books, and is regularly quoted in the press.

Table of Contents

Introduction
What Does the Catholic Church Really Teach?
Structure of the Text

PART ONE Foundations
1. The Foundations of Christian Morality
What Is Morality?
Moral Philosophy and Moral Theology
Distinctiveness of Christian Moral Theology

2. The Moral Act and Conscience
The Moral Act
Conscience
The Mistaken Conscience

3. Catholic Social Teaching: An Introduction
Catholic Social Teaching
The Principles of Catholic Social Teaching
The Strengths of Catholic Social Teaching

PART TWO Considering Ethics in Today’s World
4. Business Ethics and the American Corporation
Business Ethics and Catholic Social Teaching
Principles of Catholic Social Teaching for Business Ethics

5. Global Economic Ethics: Debt and Structural Adjustment in Africa
Foreign Debt
Structural Adjustment
Response from Catholic Social Teaching
Recent Developments and Hope for the Future?
Foreign Aid, Production / Trade, and AIDS

6. The Death Penalty
A Brief History of the Death Penalty in the United States
The Supreme Court and the Death Penalty
Arguments For and Against the Death Penalty
Catholic Social Teaching and the Death Penalty

7. Just War
Biblical Understandings of Peace
War and Peace in Catholic Social Teaching
The Challenge of Peace
The Harvest of Justice Is Sown in Peace

8. Medical Ethics: Foundational Principles and the Beginning of Human Life
Principles Governing the Patient-Professional Relationship
General Principles Regarding the Provision of Health Care
Medical Issues at the Beginning of Life

9. Medical Ethics at the End of Life
Ordinary, Extraordinary, and Artificial Means of Care
Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide
Patients Who Are Comatose or in a Persistent Vegetative State

10. Sexual Ethics
Persons Are Embodied Sexual Beings
Chastity
Issues in Sexuality
Conclusion

Index

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