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Christian Ethics and Moral Philosophy: Some Reflections on the Contemporary Situation
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 02 February 2009
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‘In our half century’, says Professor Gilbert Ryle, ‘philosophy land theology have not been on speaking terms.’ This is broadly true, and many philosophers and theologians seem to be quite content in the knowledge that their respective spheres are isolated from one another. Others, however, are dissatisfied with the prevailing situation, and feel that contemporary philosophy has much to offer theology by way of technique and procedure, and that philosophers display more bravado than wisdom if they rule that theology and religion are beyond the scope of philosophical investigation, and that religious statements are meaningless. Nowhere is the extent of the gulf between philosophy and theology more noticeable than in the field of morals. For example, one has only to consult the indices and bibliographies of books on Christian Ethics and on Moral Philosophy to see just how little overlapping of sources there is. This gives rises to the question whether there is, or ought to be, any common ground between them. Is it possible that representatives of the two camps could engage in profitable discussion? We shall observe certain hesitations and suspicions which the moral philosopher may entertain concerning Christian Ethics; we shall note what appear to be limitations in each discipline as currently practised; and we shall seek to draw certain conclusions. First, let us try to indicate the scope of Christian Ethics.
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References
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