THE CATHOLIC UNIVERSITY OF AMERICA Jacques Maritain and Alasdair MacIntyre on Human Rights A DISSERTATION Submitted to the Faculty of the School of Philosophy Of The Catholic University of America In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements For the Degree Doctor of Philosophy © Copyright All Rights Reserved By Carrie Rose Stibora Washington, D.C. 2013 Jacques Maritain and Alasdair MacIntyre on Human Rights Carrie Rose Stibora, Ph.D. Director: V. Bradley Lewis, Ph.D. This dissertation is an examination of the two divergent positions on human rights taken by prominent Catholic and Thomist philosophers Jacques Maritain and Alasdair MacIntyre. Maritain and MacIntyre, although having traveled similar paths, which included atheism, Marxism, anti-liberalism, seemingly have diametrically opposed position on the use of human rights. Maritain's work, including engagement with the drafting of the U.N. Declaration of Human Rights (1948), redefined human rights as an extension of the natural law tradition rooted in the work of Thomas Aquinas. Maritain's unique definition of rights included such notions as personalism, the common good, justice and had a basis in classical metaphysics. MacIntyre, on the other hand, rejects human rights because of their liberal provenance, maintaining that rights language is a necessary band-aid to motivate individuals to help those less fortunate in society where community, the common good and family have been significantly weakened because of liberalism. Starting with John XXIII and the Second Vatican Council up through Benedict XVI, Maritain's articulation of rights influenced several popes. It has become the stock language of the Catholic Church, despite centuries of pontiffs rebuking liberalism and rights language. With the understanding that rights can in fact be viewed as an extension of the natural law, rights language is now the preferred mode of speaking within the Church about the common good and human dignity. Delving deeper into the notion of tradition constituted rationality, MacIntyre sees the importance of being a part of a tradition for practical rationality. Having allied himself to Catholicism and the tradition of Thomistic Aristotelianism, MacIntyre emphasizes the importance of operating within the tradition, despite whatever deficiencies it may have. As a result, he abandons his own criticisms of human rights, as evidenced in two advanced stages of his career: 1) one of relative silence on the subject, engaging the word choice instead of rights; and 2) coming around to a position where he recognizes that rights do in fact exist, but need to be couched within an understanding of the common good, justice, and generosity – elements that mimic Maritain's own articulation and that of the Catholic Church. This dissertation by Carrie Rose Stibora fulfills the dissertation requirement for the doctoral degree in Philosophy approved by V. Bradley Lewis, Ph.D., as Director, and by Gregory T. Doolan, Ph.D., and Angela McKay Knobel, Ph.D. as Readers. V. Bradley Lewis, Ph.D., Director Gregory T. Doolan, Ph.D., Reader Angela McKay Knobel, Ph.D., Reader ii For Susan Louise Gress-Andrews and Joseph Allen Stibora, Ph.D. iii TABLE OF CONTENTS INTRODUCTION.....................................................................................................................1 1. WHY RIGHTS NOW...............................................................................................................1 2. WHY MARITAIN AND MACINTYRE? ......................................................................................2 3. CONNECTIONS......................................................................................................................4 4. METHOD..............................................................................................................................8 5. LAYOUT OF THE CHAPTERS ..................................................................................................9 6. WHICH RIGHTS?.................................................................................................................12 7. POPE LEO XIII'S INFLUENCE ...............................................................................................14 CHAPTER ONE: MARITAIN'S PRE-MODERN AND MODERN MÉLANGE ..............24 1. MARITAIN PRIOR TO RIGHTS ..............................................................................................25 2. MARITAIN'S EMBRACE OF RIGHTS ......................................................................................34 3. SEA CHANGE IN ECCLESIASTICAL LANGUAGE.....................................................................43 4. WHO WAS FIRST? PIUS XI OR MARITAIN?..........................................................................52 5. LIBERAL, BUT… ................................................................................................................55 6. CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................................57 CHAPTER TWO: REDEFINING RIGHTS - THE KEY ELEMENTS..............................59 PART I – CHRISTIAN HUMANISM...........................................................................................60 1. BIG PICTURE OF MARITAIN'S POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY .........................................................60 2. PERSONALISM ....................................................................................................................62 3. THE COMMON GOOD..........................................................................................................74 4. NATURAL LAW ..................................................................................................................78 PART II - DEFINITION OF RIGHTS ..........................................................................................81 1. IUS.....................................................................................................................................84 2. NATURAL LAW IN THE WORKING DEFINITION.....................................................................86 3. ETERNAL LAW ...................................................................................................................91 4. CONCLUSION .....................................................................................................................93 CHAPTER THREE: MARITAIN'S CRITICS ....................................................................94 1. LIBERAL RIGHTS VS. CATHOLIC THOUGHT..........................................................................94 2. THE CRISIS AND CRITICS OF INTEGRAL HUMANISM ...............................................................99 3. THOMAS'S NATURAL LAW ................................................................................................112 4. TOO THEOLOGICAL ..........................................................................................................120 5. TOO PHILOSOPHICAL? ......................................................................................................126 6. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................130 CHAPTER FOUR: MARITAIN AND THE CATHOLIC SOCIAL TEACHING TRADITION .........................................................................................................................131 1. SECOND VATICAN COUNCIL AND POPE PAUL VI ...............................................................132 2. JOHN PAUL II (1978 - 2005).............................................................................................142 iv 3. BENEDICT XVI (2005 - 2013) ..........................................................................................155 4. BEYOND THE PAPACY ......................................................................................................158 5. THE PEASANT'S FALLOUT .................................................................................................160 6. CONCLUSION ...................................................................................................................165 CHAPTER FIVE: MACINTYRE'S NARRATIVE QUEST..............................................167 1. TRIPARTIONED CAREER....................................................................................................170 2. STAGE I - MARX (1946 - 1971) ........................................................................................172 3. INTERLOCKING PIECES FROM MARX .................................................................................181 4. ANTI-LIBERALISM, ANTI-CAPITALISM ..............................................................................182 5. HISTORICIZING MAN ........................................................................................................187 6. PRACTICE AND THEORY....................................................................................................188 7. STAGE II ARISTOTLE AND AFTER VIRTUE (1971 - 1984).....................................................191 8. VIRTUE AND PRACTICES ...................................................................................................196 9. FROM PRACTICES TO NARRATIVE QUEST ..........................................................................202 10. LIVING AND DEAD TRADITIONS ......................................................................................205 11. STAGE III THOMISM AND TRADITION (1984 - )................................................................207