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The Basics of Casuistry
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The Basics of Casuistry
(Case
by Case Application of Principles To Facts In Search For Consistency)
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General Definition:
Casuistry is a method of resolving questions of conscience by
applying moral principles or laws to concrete cases. The term
casuistry is usually restricted to the realm of
ethics or
moral theology. It has been used as a teaching vehicle by religions and
philosophies seeking to inculcate a moral code, most notably in
Confucianism,
Stoicism,
Talmudic Judaism,
Islam,
and Christianity.
Medieval Christian theologian
Saint Augustine wrote two treatises on lying
that exemplify the casuistic form. Sixteenth-century Cambridge Puritan
preacher William Perkins, in The Whole Treatise of the Cases of
Conscience, presented the first sustained treatment of casuistry in
English. Since the late 1940s an increasing reaction against the overly
juridical approach to morality has resulted in a concept known as
situation ethics. According to this position, it is impossible to apply
universal laws or principles; thus, all casuistry is eliminated.
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type cases or "paradigms" serve as a final point
of reference in moral arguments, creating an initial "presumption"
that carries conclusive weight, in the absence of "exceptional"
circumstances. Elementary examples, lying, stealing, deliberately
harming, disloyalty and similar taboos. In particular cases,
the first task is to decide which paradigm it most closely
fits. In a case of homicide, the paradigm against murder would
be the starting point, for example.
If the
paradigm fits only with considerable ambiguity, then the
presumptions it creates are open to serious question. For
example, lying to protect an innocent person.
Two
or more paradigms may conflict on their face such as the
prohibition against killing when faced with military obligation
to do so.
Social
and cultural history of practices will refine the exceptions
to each case. The history of abortion in the U.S. is a good
example of this.
In every
case, the relevant, material facts *are crucial
to determine the paradigm and its governing principles.
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*"I keep
six honest serving men;
they taught me all I knew;
Their names are what and why and when
And how and where and who.
--Rudyard
Kipling,
The Just So Stories
Kipling
was a journalist first, novelist and poet later. The FACTS Are the driving
forces behind all decisions, no matter what theory Is applied.
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