Conscience and the Common Good: Reclaiming the Space Between Person and State

328 Pages·2009·2.17 MB·English

by  Robert K. Vischer

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conscience and the common good
Our society’s longstanding commitment to the liberty of conscience has become strained
by our increasingly muddled understanding of what conscience is and why we value it.
Too often we equate conscience with individual autonomy, and so we reflexively favor
the individual in any contest against group authority, losing sight of the fact that a
vibrant liberty of conscience requires a vibrant marketplace of morally distinct groups.
Defending individual autonomy is not the same as defending the liberty of conscience
because, although conscience is inescapably personal, it is also inescapably relational.
Conscience is formed, articulated, and lived out through relationships, and its viability
depends on the law’s willingness to protect the associations and venues through which
individual consciences can flourish: these are the myriad institutions that make up the
space between the person and the state. Conscience and the Common Good reframes the
debate about conscience by bringing its relational dimension into focus.
Robert K. Vischer is associate professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law in
Minneapolis. Professor Vischer’s scholarship explores the intersection of law, religion,
and public policy, with a particular focus on the religious and moral dimensions of
professional identity.
Conscience and the Common Good
reclaiming the space between person and state
ROBERT K. VISCHER
University of St. Thomas School of Law, Minneapolis
CAMBRIDGE UNIVERSITY PRESS
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© Robert K. Vischer 2010
This publication is in copyright. Subject to statutory exception and to the
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may take place without the written permission of Cambridge University Press.
First published in print format 2010
ISBN-13 978-0-511-72900-3 eBook (NetLibrary)
ISBN-13 978-0-521-11377-9 Hardback
ISBN-13 978-0-521-13070-7 Paperback
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accurate or appropriate.
for Maureen
Contents
Acknowledgments page ix
Introduction 1
PART I: THE RELATIONAL DIMENSION OF CONSCIENCE
1. Conscience in Law 15
2. Conscience and the Person 48
3. Conscience’s Claims 73
4. Conscience and the Common Good 98
PART II: IMPLICATIONS
5. Voluntary Associations 125
6. Pharmacies 155
7. Corporations 179
8. Schools 206
9. Families 239
10. The Legal Profession 269
Conclusion 303
Index 311
vii