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Casuistry (pronounced /ˈkæʒuːɨstri/) is an applied ethics term referring to case-based reasoning. Reasoning is the cognitive process of looking for Reasons for beliefs conclusions actions or feelings Casuistry is used in juridical and ethical discussions of law and ethics, and often is a critique of principle-based reasoning[1]. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Ethics is a major branch of Philosophy, encompassing right conduct and good life For the term in chemistry see Principle (chemistry. Not to be confused with Principal.

Critics use the term pejoratively for the use of clever but unsound reasoning, especially in relation to moral questions (see Sophistry). Casuistry is reasoning used to resolve moral problems by applying theoretical rules to particular instances.

Contents

Examples

For example, while a principle-based approach might claim that lying is always morally wrong, the casuist would argue that, depending upon the details of the case, lying might or might not be illegal or unethical. A lie (also called prevarication) is a type of Deception in the form of an untruthful statement especially with the intention to deceive others often with the further For instance, the casuist might conclude that a person is wrong to lie in legal testimony under oath, but might argue that lying actually is the best moral choice if the lie saves a life (Thomas Sanchez and others thus theorized a doctrine of mental reservation). "Testify" redirects here For other uses see Testify (disambiguation and Testimony (disambiguation. Thomas Sanchez (1550 — 19 May, 1610) was a 16th century Spanish Jesuit and famous casuist. The doctrine of mental reservation or the doctrine of mental equivocation was a special branch of Casuistry developed in the late Middle Ages and the For the casuist, the circumstances of a case are essential for evaluating the proper response.

Typically, casuistic reasoning begins with a clear-cut paradigmatic case (from paradigm, the Greek word παράδειγμα, paradeigma, "pattern" and "example", in turn derived from παραδεικνύναι paradeiknunai, "demonstrate"). Greek (el ελληνική γλώσσα or simply el ελληνικά — "Hellenic" is an Indo-European language, spoken today by 15-22 million people mainly In legal reasoning, for example, this might be a precedent case, such as pre-meditated murder. In Common law legal systems, a precedent or authority is a Legal case establishing a principle or rule that a Court or other judicial Murder is the unlawful killing of another human person with Malice aforethought, as defined in Common Law countries From it, the casuist would ask how closely the given case currently under consideration matches the paradigmatic case. Cases like the paradigmatic case ought to be treated likewise; cases unlike the paradigm ought to be treated differently. Thus, a man is properly charged with pre-meditated murder if the circumstances surrounding his case closely resemble the exemplar pre-meditated murder case. The less a given case is like the paradigm, the weaker the justification is for treating that case like the paradigmatic case.

Meanings

Casuistry is a method of case reasoning especially useful in treating cases that involve moral dilemmas. It is also a branch of applied ethics. Casuistry is the basis of case law in common law, and the standard form of reasoning applied in common law. Case law' (also known as decisional law or judicial precedent) is that body of reported Judicial opinions in countries that have Common law Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive

The casuist morality

Casuistry takes a relentlessly practical approach to morality. Rather than using theories as starting points, casuistry begins with an examination of cases. By drawing parallels between paradigms, so called "pure cases," and the case at hand, a casuist tries to determine a moral response appropriate to a particular case. The word paradigm ( Greek:παράδειγμα (paradigmacomposite from para- and the verb δείχνυμι "to show" as a whole -roughly- meaning "example"

Casuistry has been described as "theory modest" (Arras, see below). One of the strengths of casuistry is that it does not begin with, nor does it overemphasize, theoretical issues. Casuistry does not require practitioners to agree about ethical theories or evaluations before making policy. Instead, they can agree that certain paradigms should be treated in certain ways, and then agree on the similarities, the so-called warrants between a paradigm and the case at hand. The word paradigm ( Greek:παράδειγμα (paradigmacomposite from para- and the verb δείχνυμι "to show" as a whole -roughly- meaning "example"

Since most people, and most cultures, substantially agree about most pure ethical situations, casuistry often creates ethical arguments that can persuade people of different ethnic, religious and philosophical beliefs to treat particular cases in the same ways. For this reason, casuistry is widely considered to be the basis for the English common law and its derivatives. English law is the legal system of England and Wales, and is the basis of Common law legal systems used in most Commonwealth countriesand the Common law refers to law and the corresponding legal system developed through decisions of courts and similar tribunals rather than through legislative statutes or executive

Casuistry is prone to abuses wherever the analogies between cases are false.

History

Western casuistry dates from Moses and Aristotle (384–322 B. Aristotle (Greek Aristotélēs) (384 BC – 322 BC was a Greek philosopher a student of Plato and teacher of Alexander the Great. C. ), yet the zenith of casuistry was from A. D. 1550 to A. D. 1650, when the Jesuit religious order extensively used casuistry, particularly in practicing the private, Roman Catholic confessional. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order A confessional is a small enclosed booth used for the Sacrament of Penance, often called Confession, or Reconciliation The term casuistry quickly became pejorative with Blaise Pascal's attack on the misuse of casuistry. Blaise Pascal (blɛz paskal (June 19 1623 &ndash August 19 1662 was a French Mathematician, Physicist, and religious Philosopher In Provincial Letters (1656–7)[2] he scolded the Jesuits for using casuistic reasoning in confession to placate wealthy Church donors, whilst punishing poor penitents. The Lettres provinciales ( Provincial letters) are a series of eighteen letters written by French Philosopher and Theologian Blaise Pascal charged that aristocratic penitents could confess their sins one day, re-commit the sin the next day, generously donate the following day, then return to re-confess their sins and only receive the lightest punishment; Pascal's criticisms darkened casuistry's reputation. Since the seventeenth century, casuistry has been widely considered a degenerate form of reasoning. Critics of casuistry focus on its specious argumentation as intentionally misleading.

It was not until publication of The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning (1988), by Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin[3], that a revival of casuistry occurred. Stephen Edelston Toulmin (born March 25, 1922) is a British Philosopher, Author, and Educator. They argue that the abuse of casuistry is the problem, not casuistry itself. (In itself an example of casuistic reasoning. ) Properly used, casuistry is powerful reasoning. Jonsen and Toulmin offer casuistry in dissolving the contradictory tenets of absolutism and relativism: “the form of reasoning constitutive of classical casuistry is rhetorical reasoning”[4]. Moral absolutism is the Meta-ethical view that there are absolute standards against which Moral questions can be Judged, and that certain actions Compare Moral relativism, Aesthetic relativism, Social constructionism, Cultural relativism, and Cognitive relativism. Moreover, Utilitarianism and Pragmatism commonly are identified as philosophies employing the rhetorical reasoning of casuistry. Utilitarianism is the idea that the moral worth of an action is solely determined by its contribution to overall Utility, that is its contribution to happiness Pragmatism generally considered to have originated in the late nineteenth century with Charles Peirce, who first stated the Pragmatic maxim. Rhetoric has had many definitions no simple definition can do it justice

Casuistry in early modern times

The casuistic method was popular among Catholic thinkers in the early modern period, and not only among the Jesuits, as it is commonly thought. The Society of Jesus ( Latin: Societas Iesu, SJ and SI or SJ, SI) is a Catholic religious order Famous casuistic authors include Antonio Escobar y Mendoza's Summula casuum conscientiae (1627), which had enjoyed a great success, Thomas Sanchez, Vincenzo Filliucci (Jesuit and penitentiary at St Peter's), Antonino Diana, Paul Laymann (Theologia Moralis, 1625), John Azor (Institutiones Morales, 1600), Etienne Bauny, Louis Cellot, Valerius Reginaldus, Hermann Busembaum (d. Antonio Escobar y Mendoza ( 1589 - July 4 1669) was a Spanish churchman of illustrious descent Thomas Sanchez (1550 — 19 May, 1610) was a 16th century Spanish Jesuit and famous casuist. Vincenzo Filliucci (Filiutius (b at Siena, Italy 1566 d at Rome 5 April[[ 622]] was an Italian Jesuit moralist Antonino Diana (1586 – July 20, 1663) was a Catholic moral theologian. Paul Laymann (b in 1574 at Arzl, near Innsbruck; d of the plague on 13 November[[ 635]] at Konstanz) was an Austrian Jesuit Juan Azor (1535&ndash 19 February 1603) was a Spanish Philosopher and Jesuit Priest. Etienne Bauny (b in 1564 at Mouzon, Ardennes, France d 3 December[[ 649]] at Saint Pol de Léon) was a French Jesuit theologian Hermann Busenbaum (or Busembaum) ( 1600 - 31 January 1668) Jesuit theologian was born at Nottelen in Westphalia 1668), etc. One of the main theses of casuists was the necessity to adapt the rigorous morals of the Early Fathers of Christianity to modern morals, which led in some extreme cases to justify what Innocent XI later called "laxist moral" (i. The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church Christianity ( Greek Χριστιανισμός from the word Xριστός ( Christ)is a monotheistic Religion centered on the life and teachings Pope Innocent XI ( May 16 1611 &ndash August 12 1689) born Benedetto Odescalchi, was Pope of the Roman Catholic e. justification of usury, homicide, regicide, lying through "mental reservation", adultery and loss of virginity before marriage, etc. Usury (ˈjuːʒəri comes from the Medieval Latin usuria, "interest" or "excessive interest" from the Latin usura "interest" List of countries by homicide rate Homicide ( Latin homicidium, homo human being + caedere to cut kill refers to the act of killing another The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a Monarch, or the person responsible for it A lie (also called prevarication) is a type of Deception in the form of an untruthful statement especially with the intention to deceive others often with the further The doctrine of mental reservation or the doctrine of mental equivocation was a special branch of Casuistry developed in the late Middle Ages and the Catholic teachings on sexual morality draw from Natural law, Sacred Scripture and Sacred Tradition and are promulgated authoritatively by the Magisterium — all due cases registered by Pascal in the Provincial Letters). Blaise Pascal (blɛz paskal (June 19 1623 &ndash August 19 1662 was a French Mathematician, Physicist, and religious Philosopher The Lettres provinciales ( Provincial letters) are a series of eighteen letters written by French Philosopher and Theologian Blaise

The progress of casuistry was interrupted towards the middle of the 17th century by the controversy which arose concerning the doctrine of probabilism, which stipulated that one could choose to follow a "probable opinion," that is, supported by a theologian or another, even if it contradicted a more probable opinion or a quotation from one of the Fathers of the Church. Probabilism, in Catholic Moral theology, provides a way of answering the question about what to do when The Church Fathers, Early Church Fathers, or Fathers of the Church are the early and influential theologians and writers in the Christian Church The controversy divided Catholic theologians into two camps, Rigorists and Laxists.

Casuistry was much mistrusted by early Protestant theologians, because it justified many of the abuses that they sought to reform. The Protestant Reformation was a reform movement in Europe that began in 1517 though its roots lie further back in time It was famously attacked by the Catholic and Jansenist philosopher Pascal, during the formulary controversy against the Jesuits, in his Provincial Letters as the use of rhetorics to justify moral laxity, which became identified by the public with Jesuitism; hence the everyday use of the term to mean complex and sophistic reasoning to justify moral laxity. Jansenism was a branch of Catholic Gallican thought which arose in the frame of the Counter-Reformation and the aftermath of the Council of Trent Blaise Pascal (blɛz paskal (June 19 1623 &ndash August 19 1662 was a French Mathematician, Physicist, and religious Philosopher The Formulary Controversy, in 17th century France, pitted the Jansenists against the Jesuits. The Lettres provinciales ( Provincial letters) are a series of eighteen letters written by French Philosopher and Theologian Blaise Rhetoric has had many definitions no simple definition can do it justice Jesuitism is a particular approach to moral questions and problems promoted by some Jesuits of the XVIIth century (not the Society of Jesus as a Religious order By the middle of the 18th century, the name of "casuistry" became a synonym of moral laxity.

In 1679 Pope Innocent XI publicly condemned sixty-five of the more radical propositions (stricti mentalis), taken chiefly from the writings of Escobar, Suarez and other casuists as propositiones laxorum moralistarum and forbade anyone to teach them under penalty of excommunication[5]. Pope Innocent XI ( May 16 1611 &ndash August 12 1689) born Benedetto Odescalchi, was Pope of the Roman Catholic Francisco Suárez ( 5 January 1548, Granada, Spain - 25 September 1617, Lisbon, Portugal) was a Excommunication is a religious Censure used to deprive or suspend membership in a religious community Despite this papal condemnation, both Catholicism and Protestantism permit the use of ambiguous and equivocal statements in specific circumstances [6].

Alphonsus Maria de Liguori (d. Saint Alphonsus Liguori ( September 27, 1696 &ndash August 1, 1787) was a Roman Catholic Bishop, spiritual 1787), founder of the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer, then brought some attention back to casuistry by publishing again Hermann Busembaum's Medulla Theologiae Moralis, the last edition of it being published in 1785 and receiving the approbation of the Holy See in 1803. The Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (Latin Congregatio Sanctissimi Redemptoris – C The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent Episcopal see of the Roman Catholic Busembaum's Medulla had been burnt in Toulouse in 1757 because of its justification of regicide, deemed particularly scandalous after Damiens' assassination attempt against Louis XV. The broad definition of regicide is the deliberate killing of a Monarch, or the person responsible for it Robert-François Damiens (La Thieuloye 9 January 1715 - Paris 28 March 1757) was a Frenchman who attained notoriety by unsuccessfully Louis XV (15 February 1710 &ndash 10 May 1774 ruled as King of France and of Navarre from 1 September 1715 until his death in 1774

Casuistry in modern times

In modern times, casuistry has successfully been applied to law, bioethics and business ethics, and its reputation is somewhat rehabilitated. Law is a system of rules enforced through a set of Institutions used as an instrument to underpin civil obedience politics economics and society Bioethics is the philosophical study of the ethical controversies brought about by advances in Biology and Medicine. Business ethics is a form of Applied ethics that examines ethical principles and moral or ethical problems that arise in a business environment G.E. Moore dealt with casuistry in chapter 1. "GE Moore" redirects here For the cofounder of Intel see Gordon Moore. 4 of his Principia Ethica; he claimed that "the defects of casuistry are not defects of principle; no objection can be taken to its aim and object. Principia Ethica is a Monologue by Philosopher George Moore, first published in 1903 It has failed only because it is far too difficult a subject to be treated adequately in our present state of knowledge. " He also asserted, "Casuistry is the goal of ethical investigation. It cannot be safely attempted at the beginning of our studies, but only at the end. "[7]

A good reference, analysing the methodological structure of casuistic argument is The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning (1990), by Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin (ISBN 0-520-06960-9). Stephen Edelston Toulmin (born March 25, 1922) is a British Philosopher, Author, and Educator.

Criticism

Casuists have often been mistrusted as too self-serving, and their reasoning thought too inaccessible. The reasoning is often inaccessible because successful casuistry requires a large amount of knowledge about paradigms, and how parallels can be drawn from those paradigms to real life situations. In modern times, there is a similar tremendous resentment against lawyers and law. Defenders of casuistry often point out that the problems are not so much with casuistry itself, but with the improper use of casuistry. That these problems manifest themselves so often however may make it appear to some that this form of reasoning is somewhat easier to misuse than it is to apply correctly.

References

  1. ^ "Casuistry", Dictionary of the History of Ideas, University of Virginia Library. On line.
  2. ^ Blaise Pascal, The Provincial Letters of Blaise Pascal, tr. Thomas M'Crie, London Chatto & Windus (1898)
  3. ^ Albert Jonsen and Stephen Toulmin, The Abuse of Casuistry: A History of Moral Reasoning, Berkeley, U. Stephen Edelston Toulmin (born March 25, 1922) is a British Philosopher, Author, and Educator. California Press (1990, ISBN 0-520-06960-9).
  4. ^ Jonsen, 1991, p. 297.
  5. ^ Kelly, J. N. D. , The Oxford History of the Popes, Oxford University Press, 1986. ISBN 0192820850 (p. 287)
  6. ^ J. -P. Cavaillé, Ruser sans mentir, de la casuistique aux sciences sociales : le recours à l’équivocité, entre efficacité pragmatique et souci éthique, in Serge Latouche, P. Serge Latouche is an Emeritus Professor at the University of Paris-Sud. -J. Laurent, O. Servais & M. Singleton, Les Raisons de la ruse. Une perspective anthropologique et psychanalytique, Actes du colloque international « La raison rusée », Louvain la Neuve, mars 2001, Paris, La Découverte, 2004, pp. 93–118 (French).
  7. ^ G. E. Moore, Principia Ethica, (1903); 2nd ed. Thomas Baldwin, Cambridge and New York, Cambridge U. Press (1993), p. 57. ISBN 0521448484

External links

See also

In Sunni Islamic jurisprudence,the qiyas ( Arabic قياس is the process of analogical reasoning in which the teachings of the Quran are compared The School of Salamanca is the Renaissance of thought in diverse intellectual areas by Spanish theologians, rooted in the intellectual and pedagogical Case-based reasoning (CBR broadly construed is the process of solving new problems based on the solutions of similar past problems In the Canon Law of the Roman Catholic Church, a dispensation is the suspension by competent authority of general rules of law in particular cases Rhetoric has had many definitions no simple definition can do it justice "Rhetorical reason" may be defined as the faculty of discovering the crux of the matter endemic to rhetorical invention that precedes argumentation This is a list of thinking styles, methods of thinking (thinking skills and types of Thought. Situational ethics, or situation ethics, is a Christian ethical theory that was principally developed in the 1960s by the Episcopal priest Joseph Fletcher

Dictionary

casuistry

-noun

  1. The process of answering moral or ethical questions via interpretation of rules of ethics or cases that illustrate such rules.
  2. Rationalization, that is, a bogus argument designed to defend an action or feeling.
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