196 pages

English

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Eternal Pity , livre ebook

University of Notre Dame Press

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196 pages

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Drawing upon a vast range of human experience and reflection, The Eternal Pity: Reflections on Dying demonstrates how people try to cope with the inevitability of death. Different cultures, informed by religious beliefs and sometimes desperate hope, teach people to respond to their own death and the deaths of others in modes as various as defiance, stoic resignation, and unbridled grief. In addition to examples from literature, poetry, and religious texts, Father Richard John Neuhaus provides an intensely personal account of his encounter with death through emergency cancer surgery and reflects on how that encounter has changed the way he lives. While many writers have deplored the “denial of death” in our culture, The Eternal Pity shows how themes of death and dying are nevertheless perennial and pervasive. Society may be viewed as a disorganized march of multitudes waving little banners of meaning before the threat of nonbeing that is death. Some selections in this book depict people utterly surprised by their mortality; others highlight how the whole of one’s life can be a preparation for what used to be called “a good death.” For some, life is a relentless effort to hold death at bay; for others, death is, although not welcomed, reflectively anticipated. Nothing so universally defines the human condition as the fact that we shall die. The Eternal Pity helps us to understand how the prospect of death compels decisions about how we might live.

Sujets

Religion

Christianisme

Dying

Christian Theology

Social Science

Sociologie, société et politique

Philosophy

General officer

Ethics

General

Death

Informations

Publié par	University of Notre Dame Press
Date de parution	15 décembre 2020
Nombre de lectures	1
EAN13	9780268201746
Langue	English
Poids de l'ouvrage	8 Mo

Informations légales : prix de location à la page 0,1000€. Cette information est donnée uniquement à titre indicatif conformément à la législation en vigueur.

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THE

PITY

THE ETHICS oF EVERYDaY LIFE

Wing to Wing, Oar to Oar: Readings on Courting and Marrying,É. A A. KĀŚŚ Ā lÉ r KĀŚŚ

T he EteNal Pity Rections on Dying,É rïcĀ J NÉûĀûŚ

Everyone a Teacher,É mĀ sçÉ

Leading and Leadership,É. tï FûÉ

Working Its Meaning and Its Limits,É. GïÉcmÉïĀÉÉ

tHE EteRAL PITY

rElEcIÔnS Ôn DIng

ETÉ B

RICHĀRD JOHN NEUHĀUS

UNIVerSIty OF NOtre Dame PreSS

NotRe Dae, Indïana

Copyrightby University of Notre Dame Press Notre Dame, IN A Rights Reserved Pubished in tHe United States of America

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avaiabe upon request from the library of Congress.

ISBN(coth) ISBN(paper)

The paper used in this pubication meets the minimum requirements of the American Nationa Standard for Information Sciences-Permanence of Paper for Printed Library Materias, ANSIZ

é éîcs ô éVéra îé Préfàcé o é Sériés

his book is one of a seRies of voluMes devoted to the ethics of eveRyday T life. e seRies has been pRoduced by a gRoup of fRiends, united by a con ceRn foR the basic MoRal aspects of ouR coMMon life and by a desiRe to Revive public inteRest in and attention to these MatteRs, now sadly neglected. e have Met togetheR oveR the past ve yeaRs, undeR the auspices of the ïnstitute of eligin and ublic ife and suppoRted by a geneRous gRant fRoM the illy Én dowMent. e have been Reading and wRiting, conveRsing and aRguing, always looking foR ways to deepen ouR own undeRstanding of the Meaning of huMan life as oRdinaRily lived, looking also foR ways to enable otHeRs to join in the seaRch. hese anthologes of selected Readings on vaRious aspects of eveRyday life couRting and MaRRying, teaching and leaRning, woRking, leading, and dying seeM to us veRy well suited to the task. his pReface explains why we tHink so.

e begin by ReMeMbeRing that eveRy aspect of eveRyday life is ethically chaRged. eaRly eveRything that we do, both as individuals and in Relations with otheRs, is coloRed b sentiMents, attitudes, custoMs, and b eliefs conceRn ing "how to live. At woRk oR at play, in woRd oR in deed, with kin oR witH stRangeRs, we enact, often unth inkingly and albeit iMpeRfectly, ouR ideas of what it Means to live a decent and woRthy life. otions and feelings RegaRding betteR and woRse, good and bad, Right and wRong, noble and base, j ust and un j ust, decent and indecent, honoRable and disHonoRable, oR huMan and inhuMan always inuence the way we speak to one anotheR, the way we do ouR woRk, the way we contRol ouR passions, ReaR ouR childRen, Manage ouR oRganizations, Re spond to inj ustice, tReat ouR neigHbos, teach the young, caRe foR te old, couRt ouR beloved, and face ouR deats . FoR Many centuRies and up tHRough the eaRly paRt of the twentieth centuRy, theRe was in the est ( as in the Éast) a laRge and diveRse liteRatuRe on "living the good life, involving ManneRs, patteRns of civility, and the Meaning of de cency, honoR, and viRtue as tHese aRe Manifested in daily life. oRalists, both philosophical and Religious, wRote voluMinously on the MoRal diMensions of the life cycle ( e . g . , gRoing up and coMing of age, couRting and MaRRying, ReaR ing the young, aging and dying) ; on the viRtues of eveRyday life ( e . g . , couRage, enduRance, self coMMand, geneRosity, loyalty, foRbeaRance, Modesty, industRy, neighb oRliness, p at ience, hope, foRgiveness, Repentance) ; on the MoRal passions

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Thé Ehïcŝ ôf Evéryay Lïfé

oR sent iMents ( e . g . , shaMe, guilt, syMpathy, joy, envy, angeR, awe ) and theiR pRopeR expRession; on the activities of eveRYday life ( e . g . , loving, woRking, caR ing, giving, teaching, talking, eating) ; and on b asic MoRal phenoMena ( e . g . , Re sponsibility, obligation, vocation, conscience, pRaise and blaMe ) . hese topics , which once held t h e attention of gReat thinkeRs like ARistotle, ÉRasMus, and AdaM ŝMith, aRe now soRely neglected, with soRRy social consequences. he ethics of eveRyday life have been left b ehind despite-oR p eRhaps b e cause of-the buRgeoning attention given these p ast few decades to pRofessional ethics and public ethics . ention ethics today, and the discussion geneRally tuRns to Medical ethics, legal ethics, j ouRnalistic ethics, oR soMe otheR code of behavioR that is supposed to guide the activities of pRofessionals. ô R it tuRns to the need to establish codes of conduct to addRess and cuRtail the Mischief and Malfeasance of MeMbeRs of ongRess, geneRals, buReaucRats, oR otheR pub lic o cials. ïn both cases, the conceRn foR ethics is laRgely instRuMental and pRotective. he codes aRe intended to tell people how to stay out of tRouble with theiR pRofessional colleagues and with the law. he latteR is especially iMpoR tant in a woRld in which it is incReasingly likely that a challenge oR disagRee Ment will b e engaged n o t b y civil conveRsation b u t b y an uncivil lawsuit. odays pRolifeRation of codes of ethics, while an expRession of MoRal con ceRn, is at the saMe tiMe an expRession of MoRal poveRty. e wRite new Rules and Regulations because we lack shaRed custoMs and undeRstandings . et the MoRe we ResoRt to such exteRnal and contRived codes, the less we can in fact take foR gRanted. " Éthics and "MoRality have theiR souRce in "ethos and "MoRes woRds that RefeR to the ways and attitudes, ManneRs and habits, sensibilities and custoMs that shape and dene a coMMunity. oMMunities aRe built on shaRed undeRstandings, usually tacitly conveyed, not only of what is Right and wRong oR good and bad, but also of who we aRe, how we stand, what things Mean. hese MatteRs aRe not well taught by ethiĉs codes. eitheR aRe th ey coMMunicated, oR even Much noticed, b y th e cuRRent fashions in the acadeMic study and teaching of ethics oR by the pRolifeRating band of pRofessional ethicists . he doMinant Modes of conteMpoRaRy ethical discouRse and wRiting, whetheR conducted in univeRsities oR in independent ethics centeRs, aRe, by and laRge, highly abstRact, analytically philosophic, in teRested only in pRinciples oR aRguMents, often ReMote fRoM life as lived, di voRced fRoM the way Most p eople fce and Make MoRal decisions, laRgely deaf to questions of chaRacteR ad MoRal feeling oR how they aRe acquiRed, unduly inuenced by the sensational oR extReMe case, hostile to insights fRoM the Re ligious tRaditions, fRiendly to fashionable opinion but deaf to deepeR souRces of wisdoM, heavily tilted towaRd questions of law and public p olicy, and all too fRequently MaRked by an unwillingness to take a MoRal stand. aRgely absent is the oldeR-and we think RicheR-pRactice of MoRal Reection, which is con

Thé Ehîcs of EvÉryday Lîfé

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crete, rooted in ordinary experience, éngaged yet thoughtful, attuned to human needs and sentiments as well s to "rational principles of justication, and concerned for institutions tha cultivate and moral understanding and moral education. Absent epcilly is the devoted search for moral wisdom re garding the conduct of lphilosophy's original meaning and goal, and a central focus oF all reliiZUs thought and practicea search that takes help from wherever it may b found and that gives direction to a life seriously lived. Many académic taÇhrs of ethics, formerly prfessors of moral wisdom, are today purveyors of m{ral rélativism. în the colleges and universities éthics is often taught cafeteria styl, with multiple theories and viewpoints, seem ingly equal, oered up for the piking. But this apparently néutral approach often coexists with ideologically inolerant téaching. Students are taught that traditional views must give way to the "enlightened view that all viewsex cept, of course, enlightened oneare culture-bound, parochial, and ab solutely dependent on your |P-of-viewing. he morally charged "givens of human that we have bodies or parents and neighborstend to be regarded not as giFts but as impositions, obstacles to the one true good, uncon strained personal choice. Moral wisdom cannot be taught or even sought, be cause we already know that we must no constrain freedom, must no "impose morality. hus, we insist that our "values are good because we value them, not that they are valued because they are good Abstract theories of individual autonomy and self-creation abound, while insights into real life as lived fall into obscurity or disappear altogether. o é sure not all academic teachers of ethics share these opinions and aproaches But experience and study oF the literature convinces us tht these géneralizations are all too accurate. he current fashions of ethical discUrse are of more than merely academic interest hen teachings of autonomy  or "self-creation are disconnected from attention to mores and the cultural thos from the search for moral wisdom, we come to know less and less what we are supposed to do and h}w we are supposed to be either can wé take for granted that know what they are supposed to do and be. Being morally unfettered and unformed may make us feel liberated albeit insecure or lost; but seeing that others are morally unféttered and unformed is downright threatening. hus, despite our moral codes of ethics with penalties attached, despite the boom in the demand for ethicists and in ethics courses in our colleges, our everyday life déclines into relationships of narrow-eyed suspicion. o one can argue that we are as a na ti~n morally better o than we were before prôfessional and academic ethics made such a big splash. Americans of widely diering views recognize the grôwing and coarseness of public discourse and behavior, the sorry state of sexual mores, the esion oF family life, the disappearance of neigh borliness, and the growing friction among, and lack of respect for, peoples of

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Thé EhîçS of EvéRYDaY lîfé

dieRing ages, Races, Religions, and social classes. o be suRe, conTempoRaRy eThicisTs aRe noT Responsible foR ouR culTuRal and moRal BuT They háve failed To pRovide us pRopeR guidance oR undeRsTanding, laRgely neglecT The eThics of eveRyd life and because They ave given up on he puRsuiT of wisdom. ow To pRvide a RemedY? o To oeR assisTane To The gReaT majoRiTy of decenT people who sTill caRe abouT The good life? ow To answeR The aR denT desiRes of paRenTs foR a beTeR life foR TheiR childRen oR The deep longings of undeRgRaduaTes foR a moRe meaningful life foR Themselves? ow To supply an inTellecTual defense foR The now beleagueRed and emaciaTed Teachings of de cency and viRTue? Any answeR To These quesTions depends on acquiRingoR aT leasT seekinga RicheR and moRe pRofound undeRsTanding of The sTR¦cTuRe of human life and The pospecTs foR iTs LouRishing and enhancemenT. his seRies of Readings on The eThics of eveRyday life oeRs To anyone seeking such

he Topics consideRed in The seveRal aRe cenTRal To eveRyday life. MosT of us maRRy, neaRly all of us woRk (and play and ResT), all of us lose boTh l«ed ones and ouR own lives To deaTh. ïn daily life, many of us Teach and all of leaRn. în civic life, some of us lead, many of follow, and, in democRaTic socieTies, all of us aRe called upon To evaluaTe Those who would lead us. eT RaRely do we ReLecT on The naTuRe and meaning of hese he anTholo gized ReadingscollecTed fRom poeTs and pRopheTs, philosopheRs and pReach eRs, novelisTs and anThRopologisTs, scholaRs and sTaTesmen; fRom auThoRs an cienT, modeRn, and conTempoRaR ypRovide Rich maTeRials foR such ReLecTion. aRe moRal, noT They can yield insighTs, noT he ReadeR nd heRe no Rules foR caTching a buT RaTheR of The of couRTing and maRRying; no pRescRipTions foR oRganizing The woRk place, buT compeTing accounTs of The meaning of woRk; no of "when To pull The plug, examinaTions of living in The face of deaTh; no foRmulae foR "eecTive leadeRship buT assessmenTs of goveRnance democRaTic Times; no advice on how To Teach, buT vaRious mediTaTions on puRposes aQd foRms of insTRucTion. he dieRenT volumes ReLecT The dieRences in TheiR sub jecT maTTeR, as well as dieRenT TasTes and ouTlooks of TheiR ediToRs. BuT They shaRe a common moRal seRiousness and a common belief ThaT pRopeR eThical ReLecTion RequiRes a descRipTion of The phenomena of eveRyday life, wiTh TheiR inheRenT anThRopological, moal, and Religious coloRaTions. he Readings in This impose no îndeed, They mpose noTh ing; They only pRopose. hey pRopose dieRenT of Thinking abouT ouR common lives, someTimes in The foRm of sToRies, someTimes in The foRm of someTimes in The foRm of aRgumenTs. Some of These pRoposals will almosT ceRTainly "impose Themselves upon The ReadeRs and heaRT as

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b eing MoRe woRthy than otheRs. ut they will do so not b ecause they oıeR siM ple abstRactable ethical pRinciples oR suggest pRoceduRes foR solving this oR that pRobleM of living. hey will o so because they will stRike the thoughtfl ReadeR as wiseR, eepeR, and Moe tRue. e ouRselves have had this expeRience with ouR Readings, and we hope you will also . FoR the life you exaMœne in these pages is-oR could becoMe-youR own.

iMothy FulleR AMy A . Kass eon  . Kass ilbeRt . eilaendeR ichaRd John euhaus aRk ŝchwehn