We are currently seeing a revival of interest in Aquinas's moral thought among Christian ethicists, both Protestant and Catholic. Although recent studies of his moral thought have touched on a number of topics, the majority of these have focused on his account of the virtues and their place in the Christian life. Probing the questions of the relation of virtue and law, the role of reason and will, and the place of the passions in Aquinas's moral theology, I will examine (...) recent studies by Diana Cates, Pamela Hall, Simon Harak, James Keenan, Daniel Nelson, Daniel Westberg, and Paul Waddell. In different ways these studies return us repeatedly to the vexed and unresolved question of the scope of human freedom. (shrink)

ABSTRACT Engaging in sexting, such as sending or receiving of sexual words, pictures, or videos via technology, is a common behavior in minors and a rising trend. This study aimed to understand the ethical dilemmas that clinicians face when working with minors that engage in sexting under current mandated reporting standards. For this study, 178 graduate students and licensed clinicians who work with minors in the state of California completed an online survey involving vignettes concerning issues of sexting behaviors in (...) adolescents. Participants were asked to read each vignette and answer a series of questions regarding their knowledge and attitudes related to the presented issue and whether or not they would breach confidentiality in each case. Results indicated that participants, who had undergone specific training in issues of social media and technology, were significantly more likely to have more declarative knowledge of mandated reporting requirements, however, their reporting behavior was not significantly different from those, who had not previously had any training. Younger clinicians tended to report less than older clinicians. This study highlights the discrepancy that exists between the knowledge of mandated reporting standards relevant to sexting behaviors and clinicians’ reporting practice. (shrink)

In _The Priority of Prudence_, Daniel Mark Nelson proposes a reappropriation of a moral perspective that focuses on the cardinal virtues of courage, temperance, justice, and prudence. The study aims to recover and rehabilitate the virtue of prudence as a way of resuming a moral conversation that has been stalemated for too long. Nelson's main source for reviving the virtue of prudence is St. Thomas Aquinas's account of the cardinal virtues in the _Summa Theologica_. A primary problem with using Aquinas (...) as a source for reviving an ethics of virtue centered on prudence is that he is commonly perceived as the most prominent figure in the conflicting natural-law tradition. According to Nelson's reinterpretation, however, Aquinas teaches that moral understanding depends first and foremost on prudence working in accord with other cardinal virtues and that natural law functions to explain moral reasoning rather than to guide it. This study serves to advance the debate about the contemporary relevance of an ethics of virtue by way of its significantly more detailed explication of prudence. Nelson makes important connections between influential reinterpretations of the ethical theory of Aquinas that have been published during the last thirty years and widespread interest in an ethics of virtue that has been expressed by Alasdair Maclntyre, Stanley Hauerwas, William Sullivan, Robert Bellah, and others. _The Priority of Prudence _represents a significant contribution to the scholarly literature both in the study of Aquinas and in the debate on the ethics of virtue. (shrink)

Recruiting research participants based on genetic information generated about them in a prior study is a potentially powerful way to study the functional significance of human genetic variation, but it also presents ethical challenges. To inform policy development on this issue, we conducted a survey of U.S. institutional review board chairs concerning the acceptability of recontacting genetic research participants about additional research and their views on the disclosure of individual genetic results as part of recruitment. Our findings suggest there is (...) unlikely to be a “one-size-fits-all” solution, but rather several ethically acceptable approaches to genotype-driven recruitment, depending on context. Disclosures made during the consent process for the original study and the clinical validity of the results are key considerations. Researchers must be prepared to communicate and answer questions in clear lay language about what is known and not known regarding the role of genetics in their proposed area of research. (shrink)

The overlap and differences between the parallel regulatory systems for research create ample room for confusion and missteps, as discussed by Barbara Bierer and Mark Barnes in their report in this supplement. In practice, beyond the inherent differences in the two systems of regulations themselves, there are many issues that further complicate the application of these regulations. These include the variation in size of the institutions receiving PHS funding, the increased prevalence of multisite research, the allocation of research conduct and (...) oversight to external organizations, and the variability in assignment of human subject protection roles between the IRB and the institution. (shrink)

In lieu of an abstract, here is a brief excerpt of the content:KARL RAHNER'S EXISTENTIAL ETIDCS: A CRITIQUE BASED ON ST. THOMAS'S UNDERSTANDING OF PRUDENCE I KARL RAHNER'S THEORY of a "formal existential ethics," which he proposes as a necessary supplement to the "essential ethics" of the Thomistic naturallaw tradition, has been both praised as a brilliant adaptation of the tradition to contemporary philosophy as well as criticised as a misleading and unnecessary break with Thomism. William A. Wailace, one of (...) the critics, characterizes Rahner's ethics as an unfortunate combination of mysticism and casuistry.1 Personal moral decision-making, according to Wallace, should depend on the virtue of prudence plus " gifts of grace" instead of on a theory of private spiritual discernment. A genuine Thomism in his view already achieves what Rahner wants to accomplish with the problematic category of existential ethics and simultaneously provides more coherent and explicit safeguards against situationalism and abuse.2 Rahner's chief expositor, James F. Bresnahan, claims in his extensive dissertation on Rahner's ethics that the extent of Wallace's misunderstanding of "the need for ' existential ' ethics is hard to convey in a short space," and that Wallace is wrong in thinking that Rahner displaces prudence.3 In the 1 William A. Wallace, O.P., "The Existential Ethics of Karl Rahner: A Thomistic Appraisal,'' in The Thomist, 1963, vol. 27, pp. 493-515. 2 Ibid., pp. 510-513. a James F. Bresnahan, S.J., The Methodology of "Natural Law" Ethical Reasoning In The Theology of Karl Rahner, And: Its Supplementary Development Using The Legal Philosophy of Lon L. Fuller, 1972 Ph.D. dissertation, Yale University (available from University Microfilms, Ann Arbor, Mich., no. 72: 29520), footnote 106, pp. 77-78. 461 46~ DANIEL M. NELSON course of this exchange, not much is said by either party about the characteristics of the virtue oi prudence itself. An investigation into the function and status assigned to prudence by St. Thomas may be of use for deciding whether existential ethics is in keeping with his moral teaching or, rather, a distortion. But first, in order to evaluate Wailace's criticism and claim that prudence is a preferable alternative to Rahner's proposal, a brief description of Rahner's categories of essential and exi,;tential ethics is in order.4 Rahner uses the category of essential ethics in two ways. First, he identifies it Yvith what he portrays as a somewhat static and conservative natural-law tradition. Second, he uses it to refer to his own description of a rehabilitated dimension of ethical reasoning that complements and calls for a supplemental category of existential ethics. Essential ethics in both cases refers to the moral principles or laws derived from knowledge of the essential elements of human nature. The difference has to do primarily with disagreement about what it is that constitutes human essence. According to Rahner, essence is much less unchangeable and much more " open " than traditionally or ordinarily assumed. As a consequence, he argues, claims about natural law should be less absolute and universal than they often are. Whether one understands essence as fixed or fluid, however, essential ethics involves a syllogistic application of natural law to circumstances. A universal principle based on human essence 4 An understanding of Rahner's ethics is macle difficult by several factors: his thinking is deeply indebted to " transcendental" Continental philosophy; some of the relevant texts and criticisms are available only in German; passages dealing with ethics appear in widely scattered (and unindexed) essays; he does not conceive of himself primarily as an ethicist and thus is not systematic in his discussion of his moral theory; his prose may be charitably described as challenging; and the only extensive analysis of his ethics written in English is Bresnahan's 650-page dissertation, which contains a wealth of information and explication. Bresnahan has published two helpful summaries: "Rahner's Christian Ethics: in America, 1970, vol. 123, pp. 351-354 ancl "Rahner's Ethics: Critical Natural Law in Relation to Contemporary Ethical Methodology," in the Journal of Religion, Jan. 1976, vol. 56, pp. 36-660. KARL RAHNER's EXISTE?~TIAL ETHICS 463 is contained in the major premise, an actual situation is described in the minor premise, and an imperative is... (shrink)