DOCSLIB.ORG

The University of Liverpool Germain Grisez's Natural Law and Creation

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
The University of Liverpool Germain Grisez's Natural Law and Creation Germain Grisez’s natural law and creation theology as a framework for reflection on climate change and the ecological crisis Item Type Thesis or dissertation Authors Turvey, Jacaranda L. Citation Turvey, J. L. (2016). Germain Grisez’s natural law and creation theology as a framework for reflection on climate change and the ecological crisis (Doctoral dissertation). University of Liverpool, United Kingdom. Publisher University of Liverpool Download date 24/09/2021 13:20:50 Item License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/ Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10034/620347 The University of Liverpool Germain Grisez’s natural law and creation theology as a framework for reflection on climate change and the ecological crisis Thesis submitted in accordance with the requirements of the University of Liverpool for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy by Jacaranda Lyn Turvey January 2016 Abstract My thesis is that a recovery of Germain Grisez’s theological ethics in relation to the environment and the application of his conservative Catholic methodology to climate change can yield a novel and significant contribution to Catholic theological reflection on this central challenge in an age of ecological crisis. This thesis argues that climate change and the wider ecological crisis are ‘signs of the times’—and hence are appropriate issues for Catholic theological reflection—both in principle and on the basis of their classification as such within the authoritative teaching of the Church’s magisterium. The scientific evidence for the phenomenon of anthropogenic global warming is robust and the UNFCCC establishes a collective legal obligation to deliver a greenhouse gas abatement strategy rigorous enough to prevent ‘dangerous anthropogenic interference with the earth’s climatic system’. This thesis questions both the assumption of endemic anthropocentricism in the Judeo-Christian tradition and the critical-revisionist methodology adopted by a number of ecotheologians in relation to Vatican teaching on the basis of this assumption. This thesis proposes an alternative approach to reflection on ecological issues employing a conservative Catholic theological method exemplified in the work of Germain Grisez. This thesis proposes a rereading of Grisez’s natural law through the lens of his creation theology that reveals an important and hitherto overlooked resource for environmental ethics. Although Grisez himself does not address the climate challenge in his published work, this thesis shows that his ecological insights are pertinent to the issue and application of his theological method can contribute constructively to the wider project of confronting the climate crisis from a Catholic perspective. This thesis further argues that Grisez’s reconstruction of natural law is viable, in that it represents one philosophically cogent solution to the naturalistic fallacy, and that neither his choice of this solution nor his divergence from Classical Thomism compromise the construction of a ‘Grisez School environmental ethics’. In addition, his natural law has the virtue of catholicity in its capacity to contribute to ecumenical and secular debates necessary to the resolution of the climate crisis. ii Acknowledgements I would like to thank my supervisors, Professors David Clough and Celia Deane-Drummond for their expert guidance. The University of Chester provided the bursary that made this research possible. Staff and students in the Department of Theology and Religious Studies at the University of Chester provided stimulating comments at departmental seminars. Gladstone’s Library, Harwarden, Chester Cathedral and St Columba’s Church, Upton were havens for reflection. I am grateful to Simon Hailwood, Martin Hodson, Charles Camosy, Tobias Winright, Bill Patenaude, Henry Longbottom, Dan DiLeo, William Mattison, Jonathan Clatworthy, Cathriona Russell, Taurainashe Manonge and many others who offered stimulating conversation, solidarity, comments and encouragement. Thanks to John McKeown, who proof-read the text; its remaining inadequacies are entirely my own. Thanks also to my husband, Nigel Tait and children Matthew, Benjamin, Fiona and Julia for their patience and support. iii Contents Chapter One: Introduction 1 Chapter Two: Climate Change as a Sign of the Times 8 Chapter Three: The Greening of the Papacy? 44 Chapter Four: Germain Grisez: The Forgotten Environmentalist? 81 Chapter Five: Some Theoretical Issues 120 Chapter Six: Conclusion 150 Bibliography 157 iv Chapter One: Introduction General introduction and research question Every project in theology begins with a personal story about the set of circumstances in one individual’s life that birthed the motivation to reflect on a particular problem. For example, for Alex Evans this personal story is of a journey from a loss of faith in the capacity of rational, evidence- based arguments to persuade governments of the need to take radical action to build a fairer more sustainable world, to the belief that a Christian vision of covenant, atonement and renewal might have the potential to succeed where our politics appears to be failing us.1 My own intellectual journey has some similarities to Evans’s: as a science graduate I was interested in the technical aspects of the climate challenge and later—at law school—I was much influenced by John Finnis’s Natural Law and Natural Rights and fascinated by what I saw as the implications of leading cases in English Tort law2 for global issues like climate change. The need to put these thoughts into theological context was brought home to me some years later, when my autistic son Ben—then five years old—became distressed about species extinction after watching a David Attenborough documentary on climate change. An issue I had been approaching scientifically as a dispassionate observer crystalized, as a result of this experience, into something that matters to me spiritually as a Christian and personally as a woman and as a mother. I had the privilege of presenting a poster on Germain Grisez and climate change at the 2010 ‘Theological Ethics in the World Church’ Conference held at Trento in Italy.3 It was there that I realised the extent to which my personal history as an immigrant from Zimbabwe influenced my deeply held concerns about this issue. Zimbabwe is ranked amongst the world’s most climate- vulnerable states, facing serious threats to food production in a largely agricultural-based economy as the planet warms, as well as increasingly unpredictable rainfall and extreme weather events. My sense of connection with Zimbabwe and empathy with the people there remains undimmed by the passing years despite limited opportunities to visit the land of my birth. However, last October I was able to visit Action Aid Zimbabwe as part of a project to assist climate refugees displaced by flooding near the Tokwe-Mukosi dam in Masvingo. Ben—now grown up and training to be a photographer—travelled with us to the Chingwizi area where the displaced people are still living in desperate circumstances. We saw first-hand the effects of our changing climate on a vulnerable population. One enduring memory which Ben captured on camera is of two small children carrying water for many miles across the arid landscape because the boreholes closer to home had dried up. We also heard stories of small children braving long walks, through bushland inhabited by wild animals, to makeshift schools facing drastic shortages of books and equipment. And we witnessed an acute food-security crisis unfolding as political rows over the future of the displaced people left them in conditions of prolonged destitution. 1 Alex Evans, ‘The eternal covenant, atonement and environmental restoration’, Modern Believing, 54.4 (October 2013), pp. 318–327. 2 See especially Cambridge Water v Eastern Counties Leather http://www.e- lawresources.co.uk/cases/Cambridge-Water-v-Eastern-Counties-Leather.php [accessed 13 October 2015]. 3 Jacaranda Turvey, ‘Natural Law and Ecological Conversion’, Poster Presentation, Catholic Theological Ethics in the World Church Conference, ‘In the Currents of History: From Trent to the Future’, Trento, Italy, 24–27 July 2010. 1 It would be an understatement to admit that I do not have all the answers to even this one example of tragedy currently affecting a group of people profoundly disadvantaged by climate vulnerability. But if we are to reflect theologically on climate change we must begin with empathy for those vulnerable populations imperilled in a warming world. We need to have the courage to walk amongst them and see the world through their eyes. Only then will we be enabled by grace to discern the contribution each of us can make to moral theology in the Anthropocene based on our personal experience and reflection. Aims This project begins with the research question ‘how might Germain Grisez’s natural law and creation theology contribute to the project of articulating a Roman Catholic response to the climate challenge?’ Central to my response to this question is a recovery of Grisez’s thought on the environment and a defence of his position in the face of environmentalist and theological critiques. I hope to show that the new natural law theory developed by Grisez and his collaborators provides a cogent theological framework for environmental engagement and to demonstrate the application of this framework to contested issues of climate justice. Rationale As many scholars have pointed out, climate change is difficult to theorise within the commonly utilised moral frameworks: the effects of carbon pollution are indirect and non-localised such that those vulnerable to its effects are geographically and culturally distant from those most responsible for greenhouse gas stocks in the atmosphere and include generations as yet unborn. The gases involved are not ‘toxic’ in the normal sense of the word, yet their cumulative effects are profound. Furthermore the consumption of fossil fuels is so imbedded in the lifestyles of industrialised nations that its moral dimension is hidden from us in the same way that the human cost of slavery was invisible to the inhabitants of societies whose economies depended on slave trading.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Climate Change, Consequentialism, and the Road Ahead
    Chicago Journal of International Law Volume 13 Number 2 Article 8 1-1-2013 Climate Change, Consequentialism, and the Road Ahead Dale Jamieson Follow this and additional works at: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cjil Recommended Citation Jamieson, Dale (2013) "Climate Change, Consequentialism, and the Road Ahead," Chicago Journal of International Law: Vol. 13: No. 2, Article 8. Available at: https://chicagounbound.uchicago.edu/cjil/vol13/iss2/8 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by Chicago Unbound. It has been accepted for inclusion in Chicago Journal of International Law by an authorized editor of Chicago Unbound. For more information, please contact [email protected]. Climate Change, Consequentialism, and the Road Ahead Dale Jamieson* Abstract In this paperI tell the stoy of the evolution of the climate change regime, locating its origins in "the dream of Rio," which supposed that the nations of the world would join in addressing the interlocking crises of environment and development. I describe the failure at Copenhagen and then go on to discuss the "reboot" of the climate negoiations advocated by Eric A. Posner and David Weisbach. I bring out some ambiguides in their notion of InternationalPareianism, which is supposed to effectively limit the influence of moral ideals in internationalaffairs, and pose a dilemma. I go on to discuss the foundations of their views regarding climate justice, arguing that the most reasonable understandings of their favored theoretical views would not lead to some of their conclusions. Finaly, I return to the climate regime, and make some observations about the road ahead, concluding thatfor theforeseeable future the most important climate change action will be within countries rather than among them.
    [Show full text]
  • 1 Equitably Ending the Fossil Fuel Era: Climate Justice, Capital, & The
    Equitably Ending the Fossil Fuel Era: Climate Justice, Capital, & the Carbon Budget Georges Alexandre Lenferna A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy University of Washington 2019 Reading Committee: Stephen Gardiner, Chair Carina Fourie Aseem Prakash Michael Blake Program Authorized to Offer Degree: Department of Philosophy 1 ©Copyright 2019 Georges Alexandre Lenferna 2 University of Washington Abstract Equitably Ending the Fossil Fuel Era: Climate Justice, Capital, & the Carbon Budget Georges Alexandre Lenferna Chair of the Supervisory Committee: Stephen Gardiner Department of Philosophy This dissertation makes the moral case for equitably transitioning away from fossil fuels in line with keeping global warming as close as possible to the Paris Climate Agreement’s more stringent target of keeping global warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. It argues that we should do so while relying as little as possible on risky and uncertain negative emissions and geoengineering technologies, as doing so might prolong the fossil fuel era and pose grave potential costs both to the present and future generations. The dissertation addresses a central objection to the moral imperative to transition away from fossil fuels, namely that it will detrimentally impact the poor and vulnerable. It argues in response that protecting the interests of the poor and vulnerable is best achieved through a rapid yet just transition away from fossil fuels. Based on the moral case to transition away from fossil fuels in line with 1.5°C the dissertation also explores what personal moral responsibility individuals have to take action to reduce fossil fuel usage and act on climate change.
    [Show full text]
  • The Underlying Assumptions of Germain Grisez's Critique of The
    The underlying assumptions of Germain Grisez’s critique of the perverted faculty argument Los presupuestos subyacentes de la crítica de Germain Grisez al argumento de la facultad pervertida Carlos A. Casanova Universidad Santo Tomás, Chile [email protected] proyecto fondecyt 1180720 Abstract: This paper demonstrates the underlying assumptions of Germain Grisez’s critique of the perverted faculty argument. In the first place, it establishes what formula- tions of the principle Grisez considered in his criticism (those of Father Henry Davis) and what his arguments are. Afterward it establishes his assumptions: (a) a latent ethical logicism; (b) a pragmatist conception of choice and the good; (c) a mistaken metaphysics of being, the good and the theoretical and practical principles. It underlines John Dewey’s influence. Lastly, it defends the classical formulation of the perverted faculty argument and even its rendition by Father Davis. Key words: Perverted faculty argument, Germain Grisez, choice, good as source of ethical rules. Resumen: Este artículo presenta los presupuestos subyacentes a la crítica de Gri- sez al argumento de la facultad pervertida. Muestra, en primer lugar, qué formula- ciones tenía Grisez en mente cuando criticó el argumento (las del p. Henry Davis) y cuáles son sus críticas. Después investiga y determina cuáles son esos presupuestos: un cierto logicismo ético; una concepción pragmatista de la elección y del bien; una metafísica errada del ser, del bien y de los principios teóricos y prácticos. Se subraya la influencia de John Dewey. Se defienden la formulación clásica del principio e -in cluso la del p. Davis. Palabras clave: Argumento de la facultad pervertida, Germain Grisez, elección, bien como fuente de las reglas éticas.
    [Show full text]
  • Climate Litigation and Atmospheric Ethics: a Case Study of Juliana V
    CLIMATE LITIGATION AND ATMOSPHERIC ETHICS: A CASE STUDY OF JULIANA V. UNITED STATES Mark Ortiz A thesis submitted to the faculty at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in the Department of Geography. Chapel Hill 2017 Approved By: Elizabeth Olson Elizabeth Havice Scott Kirsch ©2017 Mark Ortiz ALL RIGHTS RESERVED ii ABSTRACT Mark Ortiz: Climate Litigation and Atmospheric Ethics: A Case Study of Juliana v. United States (Under the Direction of: Drs. Elizabeth Olson and Elizabeth Havice) This thesis offers an account of climate change lawsuits as ethical experiments which endeavor to develop legal and ethical norms and principles suited to a world remolded by cumulative human actions. It offers a theorization of the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ of the growing, global wave of climate litigation by situating it within the dynamic landscape of contemporary climate politics. Through a case study of Juliana v. United States, a first-of-its-kind constitutional climate lawsuit against the United States federal government, this thesis examines how legal narrative is mobilized to give ethical shape and significance to the problem of climate change and to conceptualize responsibility across vast sweeps of space and time. Interweaving insights from climate ethics, environmental humanities, legal geography and science and technology studies, this research offers a set of meditations on atmospheric ethics iii TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION: CLIMATE LITIGATION AS ETHICAL EXPERIMENTATION ................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Methods, Approach and Plan of the Present Work ....................................................... 5 1.3 Climate Ethics: Sculpting the Climatic Citizen ...........................................................
    [Show full text]
  • Dignitatis Humanae and the Development of Moral Doctrine: Assessing Change in Catholic Social Teaching on Religious Liberty
    THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Dignitatis humanae and the Development of Moral Doctrine: Assessing Change in Catholic Social Teaching on Religious Liberty A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Theology and Religious Studies Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy By Barrett Hamilton Turner Washington, D.C 2015 Dignitatis humanae and the Development of Moral Doctrine: Assessing Change in Catholic Social Teaching on Religious Liberty Barrett Hamilton Turner, Ph.D. Director: Joseph E. Capizzi, Ph.D. Vatican II’s Declaration on Religious Liberty, Dignitatis humanae (DH), poses the problem of development in Catholic moral and social doctrine. This problem is threefold, consisting in properly understanding the meaning of pre-conciliar magisterial teaching on religious liberty, the meaning of DH itself, and the Declaration’s implications for how social doctrine develops. A survey of recent scholarship reveals that scholars attend to the first two elements in contradictory ways, and that their accounts of doctrinal development are vague. The dissertation then proceeds to the threefold problematic. Chapter two outlines the general parameters of doctrinal development. The third chapter gives an interpretation of the pre- conciliar teaching from Pius IX to John XXIII. To better determine the meaning of DH, the fourth chapter examines the Declaration’s drafts and the official explanatory speeches (relationes) contained in Vatican II’s Acta synodalia. The fifth chapter discusses how experience may contribute to doctrinal development and proposes an explanation for how the doctrine on religious liberty changed, drawing upon the work of Jacques Maritain and Basile Valuet.
    [Show full text]
  • Freedom and the State: the Social Contract This Course Aims To
    Freedom and the State: The Social Contract This course aims to introduce students to central questions in political philosophy, through engagement with the work of several significant political philosophers: Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Immanuel Kant and John Rawls. The topics with which we will be most deeply concerned include the legitimacy of the state; the limits of the state’s authority; the basis of rights of resistance or rebellion; the relevance of consent to political authority; the nature and value of freedom; the relationship between politics and human nature; and social justice. We will also, as often as we can, attempt to relate the views of these philosophers to contemporary debates. Program of lectures and reading Week 1 (15/01) Lecture 1: Political Legitimacy and the Social Contract Tradition Reading: Easy: Wolf (2006): 34-48. Easier: ‘Authority’ and ‘Political Obligation’ in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Harder: Boucher & Kelly (1994): ch. 1. Hampton (1997): Chapter 3. Week 2 (22/01) Lecture 2: Hobbes on Human Nature and the State of Nature Primary Reading: Leviathan, Part I, chs. 11, 13-16. Secondary Reading: Easy: Wolf (2006): 8-17. Easier: Levine (2002): 15-32. Newey (2008): ch. 4-5. Harder: Warburton, Pike and Matravers (2000): 100-105. Seminar question: If human nature is, or were, as Hobbes describes it, does it follow that life in the state of nature would be ‘solitary, poore, nasty, brutish and short’? Week 3 (29/01) Lecture 3: Hobbes on the Covenant, the Sovereign and the Right to Rebel Primary Reading: Leviathan, Part II, chs.
    [Show full text]
  • Downloaded from Manchesterhive.Com at 09/25/2021 09:21:39AM Via Free Access Chap 16 23/1/03 7:51 Am Page 197
    chap 16 23/1/03 7:51 am Page 196 16 International justice David Boucher Introduction Is justice intra-national or international, localised or globalised, communi- tarian or cosmopolitan, universal or particular, in its scope? Do richer coun- tries have a duty to help poorer countries and, if so, is this duty a matter of charity or justice, or both? Answers to these questions are often dependent upon an answer to a prior question: are state boundaries morally arbitrary and, if so, do we have a responsibility to help the less well off beyond these borders? A whole range of positions are taken which often cut across the cosmopolitan–communitarian divide favoured by such theorists who work within the field of international relations as Chris Brown, Janna Thompson, Charles Jones and Peter Sutch.1 Cosmopolitanism points to the justification of our moral principles as having a universal basis. For the cosmopolitan the existing social arrangements have no special status as the source of our value. The type of universal principles required is generated by three different sources of cosmopolitanism: Kantian- ism, utilitarianism and Marxism. Although utilitarianism is an entirely differ- ent moral theory from that of Kant, it is nevertheless cosmopolitan. Jeremy Bentham is, of course, the classic utilitarian. His theory is clearly cosmopolitan in that values are universal, and not the product of various particularistic com- munities. Each individual feels pleasure and pain and this is the basis of human values. Individuals have a basic duty to increase the happiness of humankind in general. The institutions of the family and state, for example, have claims on our duty because they promote the maximisation of the general happiness and not because they have priority over utility.
    [Show full text]
  • Inventing Westphalia
    Inventing Westphalia Nicholas Pingitore Senior Thesis Spring, 2020 Advisors: Ethan Shagan and Raphael Murillo Pingitore 1 Introduction The Westphalian Moment, if there ever was one, may quite well have occurred more than 100 years after the signing of the now famous Peace, and in Geneva no less. Writing around 1756, Jean-Jacques Rousseau declared in his treatise, A Lasting Peace Through the Federation of Europe that “the Treaty of Westphalia will perhaps forever remain the foundation of our international system.”1 Prevailing social science lore would find no fault with Rousseau’s logic. Examples abound from the last 70 years of various political theories, international histories, university conferences, even modern military alliances, referencing Westphalia.2 Invariably, there are some differences in how these thinkers frame the importance of Westphalia, but the general mold is familiar enough to any sophomore undergraduate enrolled in a course on international relations.3 It goes as follows: The Thirty Years’ War lasted from 1618-1648. This three-decade-long catastrophe was perhaps Europe’s first modern continental war. While the majority of the conflict took place in central Europe, it drew upon every “great power” resulting in an estimated five to eight million deaths. Modern estimates would suggest that such a toll resulted in a 15–20 percent decline in Europe’s population.4 By 1 Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Translated by C.E. Vaughan, A Lasting Peace Through The Federation of Europe and The State of War, London: Constable and Company Limited, 1917, p. 55. 2 Javier, Solana. “Securing Peace in Europe.” Speech presented at the Symposium on the Political Relevance of the 1648 Peace of Westphalia, Münster, Germany, November 12, 1998.
    [Show full text]
  • Response to Germain Grisez's
    GRISEZ ON ARISTOTLE AND HUMAN GOODS Response to “Natural Law, God, Religion, and Human Fulfilment” In his essay ‘Natural Law, God, Religion, and Human Fulfillment’ Professor Grisez has given us, in his usual stimulating and provocative way, a good many ideas to chew on and react to. Reading him is always a challenge. In this particular piece he has covered a lot of ground in moral philosophy, theology, and the history of thought. Happily it is not my task to comment on everything. My focus is to be Grisez’s discussion and criticism of Aristotle. However, this focus, while narrow enough for the purposes of this paper, will also give me the opportunity to discuss some of the other things he says. As regards Aristotle, Grisez finds in the Stagirite certain ideas that, as he says, are “disastrous for religion and moral life” (p.13). Well, perhaps they are, but I think we ought to register a certain initial surprise that they could be. After all Aristotle’s philosophy has had such an effect on the theological and moral thinking of the past two millennia, whether Christian or not, that if we are to judge his philosophy disastrous we will probably find ourselves having to judge the thinking it affected disastrous too. Grisez does seem to think that, at least if his remarks on St. Thomas Aquinas later in his paper are anything to go by. But that would suggest that Grisez’s “renewal of Christian ethics” (p. 27) is less like a renewal and more like a revolution. Still it might be a needed revolution.
    [Show full text]
  • Suárez, Natural Law and Contemporary Criticism
    Suárez, Natural Law and Contemporary Criticism Sebastián Contreras Universidad de los Andes, Chile [email protected] Abstract This paper deals with Suárez’s doctrine of natural law. Contemporary scholars often refer to Suárez as responsible of a turning to a physicalist understanding of right, where practical reason is confined to discover the group of commands that nat- ural inclinations imply. Against that interpretation, this paper intends to show that Suárez sustains a practical and rational un- derstanding of natural law in consonance with the Medieval and Thomist tradition. Keywords: Francisco Suárez, natural law, philosophy of law, natural justice. Received: 29 - 06 - 2016. Accepted: 05 - 10 - 2016. Tópicos, Revista de Filosofía 53 (2017), 255-272. 256 Sebastián Contreras Suárez, el derecho natural y la crítica contemporánea* Sebastián Contreras Universidad de los Andes, Chile [email protected] Resumen Este artículo trata sobre la doctrina suareciana de la ley natural. Los estudiosos contemporáneos suelen presentar a Suárez como el responsable del vuelco hacia una comprensión fisicalista del derecho en donde la razón práctica se limita a descubrir el conjunto de mandatos que envuelven las inclinaciones naturales. En contra de esa interpretación, el presente trabajo intenta mostrar que Suárez defiende una comprensión racional-práctica del derecho natural en línea con la tradición medieval y tomista de la ley natural. Palabras clave: Francisco Suárez, ley natural, filosofía del derecho, derecho natural. Recibido: 29 - 06 - 2016. Aceptado: 05 - 10 - 2016. * El autor agradece el patrocinio de Fondecyt-Chile, proyecto 11150649. Tópicos, Revista de Filosofía 53 (2017) Suárez, el derecho natural y la crítica contemporánea 257 Entre los estudiosos de la teoría del derecho natural, actualmente existe una importante discusión acerca del papel que toca a la naturaleza en la fundación de las normas.
    [Show full text]
  • Hobbes's Contribution to International Thought, and the Contribution of International Thought to Hobbes
    History of European Ideas ISSN: 0191-6599 (Print) 1873-541X (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rhei20 Hobbes's Contribution to International Thought, and the Contribution of International Thought to Hobbes David Boucher To cite this article: David Boucher (2015) Hobbes's Contribution to International Thought, and the Contribution of International Thought to Hobbes, History of European Ideas, 41:1, 29-48, DOI: 10.1080/01916599.2014.948289 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01916599.2014.948289 Published online: 22 Sep 2014. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 146 View related articles View Crossmark data Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rhei20 Download by: [University of Cambridge] Date: 11 November 2015, At: 02:41 History of European Ideas, 2015 Vol. 41, No. 1, 29–48, http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01916599.2014.948289 Hobbes’s Contribution to International Thought, and the Contribution of International Thought to Hobbes DAVID BOUCHER* Department of Politics and International Relations, Cardiff University, UK and Department of Politics, University of Johannesburg, South Africa Summary The aim of this article is to explore in what respects Thomas Hobbes may be regarded as foundational in international thought. It is evident that in contemporary international relations theory he has become emblematic of a realist tradition, but as David Armitage suggests this was not always the case. I want to suggest that it is only in a very limited sense that he may be regarded as a foundational thinker in international relations, and for reasons very different from those for which he has become infamous.
    [Show full text]
  • The Need for Virtue in an Age of Climate Change a Thesis Presented
    The Need for Virtue in an Age of Climate Change A thesis presented to the faculty of the College of Arts and Sciences of Ohio University In partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Master of Arts in Philosophy Zachary R. Allison August 2018 © 2018 Zachary R. Allison. All Rights Reserved. 2 This thesis titled The Need for Virtue in an Age of Climate Change by ZACHARY R. ALLISON has been approved for the Philosophy Department and the College of Arts and Sciences by Scott Carson Associate Professor of Philosophy Joseph Shields Interim Dean, College of Arts and Sciences 3 ABSTRACT ALLISON, ZACHARY R., M.A., August 2018, Philosophy The Need for Virtue in an Age of Climate Change Director of Thesis: Scott Carson Dale Jamieson, Stephen Gardiner, Allen Thompson, and Byron Williston are four of the most prominent philosophers who have written on the role that virtue plays in an age of climate change. None of them, however, consider how valuable virtue can be in serving preventative ends. Climate change is, in part, a moral failure and part of the task of mitigating climate change should be acknowledging this failure and working to make sure we do not commit the same mistakes of the past. In this thesis, I argue for the cultivation of a virtue that I call “holism” that I believe can help humanity achieve this end. In chapter one, I discuss the arguments of the aforementioned philosophers and identify how their views of virtue in the Anthropocene are not identical to my own. In chapter two, I spell out the virtue of holism and argue for how it can help humanity work towards not allowing another climate catastrophe to happen once the present crisis is mitigated.
    [Show full text]