Moral Dilemmas in Medieval Thought: From Gratian to Aquinas

238 Pages·2011·1.39 MB·English

by  M. V. Dougherty

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MORAL DILEMMAS IN
MEDIEVAL THOUGHT
The history of moral dilemma theory often ignores the medieval
period, overlooking the sophisticated theorizing by several thinkers
who debated the existence of moral dilemmas from around  to
. In this book, M. V. Dougherty offers a rich and fascinating
overview of the debates which were pursued by medieval philoso-
phers,theologians,andcanonlawyers,illustratinghisdiscussionwith
adiverserangeofexamplesofthemoraldilemmaswhichtheyconsid-
ered. He shows that much of what seems particular to twentieth-
century moral theory was well known long ago – especially the
view of somemedieval thinkersthat someformsof wrongdoingare
inescapable,andtheiremphasisontheprinciple‘choosethelesserof
two evils’. His book will be valuable not only to advanced students
andspecialistsofmedievalthought,butalsotothoseinterestedinthe
historyofethics.
m. v. dougherty is Associate Professor of Philosophy at Ohio
DominicanUniversity.HeistheeditorofPicodellaMirandola:New
Essays(Cambridge,).

MORAL DILEMMAS IN
MEDIEVAL THOUGHT
From Gratian to Aquinas
M. V. DOUGHERTY
OhioDominicanUniversity
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Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
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ForMichelle
Amanswearstokeepsecretsinsilence.Afterwardstheonetowhomhe
sworerevealsbothadulteryandaplantokillhisadulteress’shusband.
It seems that the swearer is in a dilemma, because if he is silent he
becomes an accomplice tohomicide, andif he reveals thesecret,he
becomesguiltyofperjury.
GregorytheGreat,Moralia
Itseemsthatsomeonecanbeinadilemmabetweenminorsins.For
example,amanpromisestodrinkmorethanheisable.Ifhedrinks
thatmuch,hesins.Ifhebreakshispromise,healsosins.
GlossaordinariaonGratian’sDecretum
Sometimesithappensthatafly,oraspider,orsomeotherpoisonous
creature falls into the chalice after the priest has said the words of
consecrationatMass.Ifthepriestdrinksfromthechalice,heappears
to sin by killing himself or by tempting God. If he does not drink,
hesinsbyactingagainstthestatuteofthechurch.Consequently,the
priestseemstobeinadilemmaandunabletoavoidsinning.
ThomasAquinas,Summatheologiae
Contents
Preface pageix
Introduction 

Definingmoraldilemmas

Terminology

Apre´cisofchapters
 Gratianandhisglossatorsonconflictsinthenatural
law 
. Gratian’sDecretum:Itsinfluenceandmethod 
. Conflictandconcordia 
. Conflictswithintheiusnaturale 
. Gratian’sGregoriandefenseofmoraldilemmas 
. AdenialofmoraldilemmasintheGlossaordinaria 
. Gratian’slegacyonmoraldilemmas 
 Twentymoraldilemmasfromtwoearly
thirteenth-centurysummariesoftheology:Williamof
Auxerre’sSummaaureaandtheFranciscanSumma
Halesiana 
. TwoSummaeandtheirauthors 
. Twodiscussionsofperplexitas 
. Moraldilemmasofthespiritualperplexityvariety 
. Moraldilemmasofthecorporealperplexityvariety 
. Appealstothelesserevilprinciple 
. Fourtypesofmoraldilemma 
 RaymondLullandmoralensnarementinthe
Vitacoaetanea 
. TheauthorshipoftheVitacoaetanea 
. TheConversionDilemma 
. TheTeacher–StudentDilemma 
. TheDivineCommandDilemma 
vii
viii Contents
. TheKing’sEdictDilemma 
. PrinciplesoftheLullianmoraluniverse:providenceormoralluck? 
 ThomasAquinas,moraldilemmas,andamissing
articlefromQuodlibetXII 
. AlanDonagan’sinterpretationofAquinas 
. TheThomistictexts 
. Twentieth-centurycontroversies 
. Canagentsalwaysdefusetheafter-effectsofpastmoralfailures? 
. Atextforthemissingarticleonperplexitas 
 ThomasAquinasonfailuresofpracticalreasoning:
Whysynderesisdoesn’tinoculateagentsagainst
malformedconsciencedilemmas 
. ThedefenseoftheDivineCommandPrinciple 
. MalformedconsciencedilemmasafterAquinas 
. Aquinaswithinthetradition 
 MoraldilemmasintheearlyThomistictradition:
JohannesCapreolusandtheDeceivingDemonDilemma 
. Areviewofmoraldilemmastrategies 
. Doingevilwhileintendinggood 
. TheDeceivingDemonDilemma 
. Anattackontheprincipleofthelesserevil 
. QuestioningthefactsoftheDeceivingDemonDilemma 
. Thomisticappealstotheprincipleofthelesserevil 
. Thomismandirresolvableprior-faultdilemmas 
Conclusion 
Bibliography 
Index 