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“Practical Principles, Moral Truth, and Ultimate Ends” During the mid-1980s, Grisez worked a great deal with John Finnis and Joseph Boyle on nuclear deterrence, and that work bore fruit in their book: Nuclear Deterrence, Morality and Realism (Oxford and New York: Oxford University Press, 1987). Having responded to some critics of the ethical theory that they had been developing and were applying in the deterrence book, the three decided to reformulate the parts of the theory that were most widely misunderstood. By doing this, they meant to provide a resource for those striving to understand their work despite the frequent misinterpretations of it by critics. The article is copyright © University of Notre Dame 1987, all rights reserved. In 2010, Grisez still regards the first two parts of this article as sound, although some elements have been developed more fully in later works. However, for his views on ultimate ends, those interested should study two of his later articles, “Natural Law, God, Religion, and Human Fulfillment” and “The True Ultimate End of Human Beings: The Kingdom, Not God Alone,” both of which are available on this website. “The Basic Principles of Natural Law: In 1980 Ralph McInerney, Professor of Philosophy at the University of Notre Dame, published an article, “The Principles of Natural Law,” in which he concisely attempted to criticize some of the fundamental theoretical positions that Grisez and John Finnis hold in common. In 1981, they replied with equal brevity in the same journal. That reply is copyright © University of Notre Dame 1981, all rights reserved. “Natural Law and Natural Inclinations: In an article published in 1986 in New Scholasticism, Douglas Flippen criticized both the account of practical reason and the interpretation of Aquinas in Grisez’s “First Principle of Practical Reason.” In this article, published the following year in the same journal, Grisez responded to both lines of criticism. While the constructive presentation of the theory in this article is superseded by that in “Practical Principles, Moral Truth, and Ultimate Ends,” other elements of the response complement other replies to critics. The article is copyright © American Catholic Philosophical Association 1987, all rights reserved. “Some Critical Notes on Russell Hittinger’s Book: While reading Russell Hittinger’s book crticizing the moral theory that Joseph Boyle, John Finnis, and Grisez had been developing, Grisez made extensive notes, which he used in preparing the critique he published. He also shared those notes with people who were especially interested in his evaluation of that book. Although he has changed his position on some matters since he completed the notes in January 1988, he makes them available here for the use of anyone interested in evaluating Hittinger’s work: copyright © Germain Grisez 2010, all rights reserved. “A Critique of Russell Hittinger’s Book: Specific shortcomings in Hittinger’s book are pointed out in the published review, which is unfortunately marred by many typographical errors. The review is copyright © American Catholic Philosophical Association 1988, all rights reserved. |