Aquinas, Feminism, and the Common Good (Moral Traditions Series)

233 Pages·2004·0.92 MB·English

by  Susanne M. Decrane

Aquinas, Feminism,
and the
Common Good
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Moral Traditions Series
James F.Keenan,S.J.,Editor
AmericanProtestantEthicsandthe FeministEthicsandNaturalLaw:TheEnd
LegacyofH.RichardNiebuhr oftheAnathemas
WilliamWerpehowski CristinaL.H.Traina
AquinasandEmpowerment:Classical TheGlobalFaceofPublicFaith:Politics,
EthicsforOrdinaryLives HumanRights,andChristianEthics
G.SimonHarak,S.J.,Editor DavidHollenbach,S.J.
TheBanalityofGoodandEvil:Moral
LessonsfromtheShoahandJewishTradition Heroes,Saints,andOrdinaryMorality
DavidR.Blumenthal AndrewMichaelFlescher
BridgingtheSacredandtheSecular: IntroductiontoJewishandCatholic
SelectedWritingsofJohnCourtneyMurray Bioethics:AComparativeAnalysis
JohnCourtneyMurray,S.J. AaronL.Mackler
J.LeonHooper,S.J.,Editor
JewishandCatholicBioethics:An
ACalltoFidelity:OntheMoralTheologyof
EcumenicalDialogue
CharlesE.Curran
EdmundD.PellegrinoandAlanI.
JamesJ.Walter,TimothyE.O’Connell,
Faden,Editors
andThomasA.Shannon,Editors
TheCatholicMoralTraditionToday:A JohnPaulIIandtheLegacyofDignitatis
Synthesis Humanae
CharlesE.Curran Herm´ınioRico,S.J.
CatholicSocialTeaching,1891–Present
JosefFuchsonNaturalLaw
CharlesE.Curran
MarkGraham
TheChristianCaseforVirtueEthics
JosephJ.Kotva,Jr. Love,HumanandDivine:TheHeartof
ChristianEthics
TheContextofCasuistry
EdwardCollinsVacek,S.J.
JamesF.Keenan,S.J.,andThomasA.
Shannon,Editors MedicineandtheEthicsofCare
DemocracyonPurpose:Justiceandthe DianaFritzCatesandPaulLauritzen,
RealityofGod Editors
FranklinI.Gamwell
TheOriginsofMoralTheologyinthe
EthicsandEconomicsofAssisted UnitedStates:ThreeDifferentApproaches
Reproduction CharlesE.Curran
MauraA.Ryan
TheEthicsofAquinas ShapingtheMoralLife:AnApproachto
StephenJ.Pope,Editor MoralTheology
KlausDemmer,M.S.C.
TheEvolutionofAltruismandthe
TranslatedbyRobertoDell’Oro
OrderingofLove
JamesF.Keenan,S.J.,Editor
StephenJ.Pope
TheFellowshipofLife:VirtueEthicsand WhoCountasPersons?HumanIdentity
OrthodoxChristianity andtheEthicsofKilling
JosephWoodill JohnF.Kavanaugh,S.J.
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Aquinas, Feminism,
and the
Common Good
usanne e rane
S M. D C
(cid:1)
GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY PRESS/WASHINGTON, D.C.
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GeorgetownUniversityPress,Washington,D.C.
(cid:1)2004byGeorgetownUniversityPress.Allrightsreserved.
PrintedintheUnitedStatesofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 2004
Thisbookisprintedonacid-freepapermeeting
therequirementsoftheAmericanNationalStandard
forPermanenceinPaperforPrintedLibraryMaterials.
LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
DeCrane,SusanneM.(SusanneMarie),1949–
Aquinas,feminism,andthecommongood/SusanneM.DeCrane.
p. cm.—(Moraltraditionsseries)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN0-87840-349-3(alk.paper)
1. Peace(Philosophy) 2. Commongood. 3. Thomas,Aquinas,Saint,
1225?–1274. 4. Women—Medicalcare—UnitedStates.
5. Feminism—Religiousaspects—Christianity. I. Title. II. Series.
B105.P4D43 2004
230(cid:1).2(cid:1)082—dc22 2003019457
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If any among us in the human community are not equally wel-
comed at the center; if any among us is dying because they have
been displaced from the community and denied its goods; if any
amongushasbeensubjugatedbythecommunity,enslavedbyit
orexploited,withtheirheritagestolenortheiraccesstoitclosed
off; if any of us have been thought to be less ‘‘human’’ than
others, humiliated or ignored, then these are to be given some
priorityinourcommitmentstoall.Thesearethe‘‘poor,’’thedis-
advantagedorunprotected,theirsarethevoicesleastlikelytobe
heard,theirsisthepainleastlikelytobeseen;theirsisthepartici-
pation least likely to be allowed. A ‘‘preferential option for the
poor’’ is, therefore, a recognition of, and a granting of strategic
priorityto,thejustclaimsofthosewhomthehumancommunity
hasheretoforeexcluded,deprived,orunfairlyburdened.
—Margaret Farley, RSM
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(cid:1)
Contents
Acknowledgments ix
Introduction xi
1
FEMINISTTHEOLOGICALHERMENEUTICS 1
TextualHermeneutics:SandraSchneiders 4
AFeministEthic:RosemaryRadfordRuether 18
Anthropology:MarthaNussbaum 24
AProposedFeministHermeneuticalMethod 39
2
THECOMMONGOODINTHETHOUGHTOF
THOMASAQUINAS 42
Background 43
TheAnthropologyofAquinasinRelationtothe
CommonGood 45
TheGood 50
TheHumanGood 52
TheCommonGood 58
TheRelationshipbetweentheIndividualGoodandthe
CommonGood 69
JusticeandtheCommonGood 74
ExamplesoftheCommonGoodinAquinas 79
Conclusion 82
vii
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3
AFEMINISTRETRIEVALOFTHEPRINCIPLEOF
THECOMMONGOOD 85
Experience,andtheExperienceofWomen 87
Anthropology 92
HistoricalConsciousnessandEmbodiment 93
AquinasandtheCommonGood 96
TheIndividualGoodandtheRetrievedPrincipleofthe
CommonGood 119
JusticeandtheCommonGood 124
Conclusion 127
4
THERETRIEVEDPRINCIPLEOFTHECOMMON
GOODANDHEALTHCAREINTHEUNITED
STATES 128
TheChangedRealityofHealthCareintheUnited
States 130
U.S.AttitudestowardTreatmentandDeath 133
HealthCareasanElementoftheCommonGood 135
SocialValuesintheUnitedStates 137
U.S.HealthCareToday 141
WomenandHealthCareintheUnitedStates 143
BlackWomenandBreastCancer 147
TheFunctioningoftheRetrievedPrincipleofthe
CommonGood 151
Conclusion 154
Afterword 155
Notes 157
Bibliography 197
Index 209
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Acknowledgments
The existence of this book isduetothesupportandencour-
agement of many people. Many thanks are due to Ellen Leonard,
C.S.J.,whohelpeditreachfulfillment.LisaCahill,JeanPorter,Ronald
Mercier, S.J., Steven Dunn, and Roger Hutchinson read this work
when it was in the stage of a dissertation, and their comments have
strengthened it immeasurably. I am blessed to have good friends who
arealsowonderfulmoraltheologiansinPatriciaLamoureuxandDiane
Caplan.Theyreadanearlydraftandencouragedmetobelievethatthe
projecthadmeritandshouldbepursued.Theirenthusiasmwasawon-
derful gift! James Keenan, S.J., editor of the Moral Traditions series,
andRichardBrown,directorofGeorgetownUniversityPress,gaveme
theopportunitytoexpressmyselfasascholarandanethicist,whichwas
more than I dared hope for when this project began. Students, col-
leagues, and administrative staff members of Mercy High School, the
Ecumenical Institute of Theology, and St. Mary’s Seminary and Uni-
versityinBaltimoreallcontributedinterestandencouragement,which
helpedmywork.
Iamparticularlymindfulofthesupportoftwospecialmen.Iam
grateful for the steadfast encouragement of my father, William J. De-
Crane.Whilehehimselfnevergraduatedfromhighschoolandworked
all his life asa meat cutter, Dad knew thislabor was very important to
me,andhewasimmenselyproudofbothitandme.Daddiedin1995,
butIstillclearlyhearhisvoicetellingmehowproudheisofme,andI
cherishthisasapricelesslegacy.
My husband, Brian D. Berry, is also an ethicist. He, more than
anyotherperson,hashelpedthisbookreachfulfillmentthroughmany
ix
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x Acknowledgments
years of stop-and-start work. His love and encouragement of me and
my work have been unfailing. He read endless drafts and revisions of
this work in all its forms, always offering the gift of cogent critiques,
valuable suggestions, and needed criticism. He has endured endless
conversationsabouthermeneuticsandAquinasoverbreakfastanddin-
ner.Hisquestionsandinsightshavebeenthoseofafriendwhoattimes
believesinyourprojectmorethanyoudoandholdsthevisionsafeuntil
youcanpickitupagain.Tohimitisdedicated—Brian,bestcolleague,
besteditor,bestfriend.
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