Ethics at the Edges of Law

Christian Moralists and American Legal Thought

Cathleen Kaveny

Proposes new methodological approaches to Christian ethics-using law as a source and conversation partner
Shows how religion can move beyond treating law as a locus of the culture wars to seeing it as a source of moral knowledge and wisdom
Demonstrates how examples from secular law can help us integrate special ethics, like medical ethics, with broader questions of social justice

Ethics at the Edges of Law

Christian Moralists and American Legal Thought

Cathleen Kaveny

Description

An interdisciplinary conversation between law and Christian thought exists, but has so far been centered in the legal academy. Law scholars have fruitfully critiqued contemporary legal and jurisprudential issues by drawing upon concepts and norms from the field of religious ethics. However, the conversation needs to move in the opposite direction as well-centered in religious studies and theology and reaching out to the legal field. Ethics at the Edges of Law begins this movement by arguing for the discipline of law as a valuable source of moral wisdom and conceptual insight for ethicists.

Cathleen Kaveny shows how the work of important contemporary figures in Christian ethics, including John Noonan, Stanley Hauerwas, and Margaret Farley, can be enriched and illuminated by engagement with particular aspects of the American legal tradition. The book is divided into three parts: Part I, "Narratives and Norms," examines how the legal tradition can shed light on the development of religious and moral traditions. Part II, "Love, Justice, and Law," uses particular legal cases to advance questions about the relationship of love and justice in Christian ethics. Part III, "Legal Categories and Theological Problems," shows how legal concepts can reframe and even resolve moral controversies within religious communities. With this book, Kaveny leads the way towards a mutually profitable exchange between the American legal tradition and the tradition of Christian ethics.

Ethics at the Edges of Law

Christian Moralists and American Legal Thought

Cathleen Kaveny

Dedication
Preface

Introduction

Part I Narratives and Norms
Chapter 1 Tradition and Development
- Engaging John T. Noonan, Jr.
Chapter 2 Creation and Covenant
- Engaging Stanley Hauerwas
Chapter 3 Examples and Rules
-Engaging Jeffrey Stout

Part II Love, Justice, and Law
Chapter 4 Neighbor Love and Legal Precedent
- Engaging Gene Outka
Chapter 5 Compassionate Respect and Victims' Voices
- Engaging Margaret Farley
Chapter 6 Covenant Fidelity and Culture Wars
- Engaging Paul Ramsey

Part III Legal Categories and Theological Problems
Chapter 7 Juridical Insights and Theological Disputes
- Engaging Robert E. Rodes, Jr.
Chapter 8 Second Chances and Statutes of Limitations
- Engaging Walter Kasper
Chapter 9 Legalism and Christian Ethics
- Engaging Grisez and Engelhardt

Conclusion

Ethics at the Edges of Law

Christian Moralists and American Legal Thought

Cathleen Kaveny

Author Information

Cathleen Kaveny is the Darald and Juliet Libby Professor of Law and Theology at Boston College. She earned her J.D. and her Ph.D. in religious ethics at Yale University. She came to Boston College in 2014 after teaching for many years at the University of Notre Dame. She is a past president of the Society of Christian Ethics and chair of the board of trustees of the Journal of Religious Ethics.

Ethics at the Edges of Law

Christian Moralists and American Legal Thought

Cathleen Kaveny

Reviews and Awards

"Cathleen Kaveny's new work brilliantly demonstrates not only that law can be a fruitful conversation partner for theological ethics, but that it is a necessary one. Her mastery of the fields of law, ethics, and theology is marshaled throughout as she probes perennially vexing problems and explores new questions. Highly original, sometimes provocative, always illuminating, Ethics at the Edges of Law is a tour de force." --Linda Hogan, Professor of Ecumenics and former Vice-Provost of Trinity College Dublin

"Ethics at the Edges of Law is one of the most important recent books at the intersection of law and theology. Kaveny's thoughtful and at times unconventional engagement with some of the major twentieth-century figures in these two disciplines offers glimmers of both tragedy and hope-and a reminder that our lived experiences unfold in the shadow of both."--John D. Inazu, Sally D. Danforth Distinguished Professor of Law and Religion, Washington University in St. Louis

"Cathleen Kaveny is one of the most important scholars in the interdisciplinary field of law and religion since the field began to flourish about forty years ago. Ethics at the Edges of Law is a superb book. In it, Kaveny succeeds in doing precisely what she set out to do, namely, 'jump start . . . a complementary interdisciplinary conversation . . . centered in religious studies and theology and reaching out to the legal field.'"--Michael J. Perry, Robert W. Woodruff Professor of Law, Emory University