From Theologial Speciesism to a Theological Ethology: Where Catholic Moral Theology Needs to Go

Catholic moral theology – consciously or unconsciously – has paid very little attention to the consideration of the moral import of non-human animals and, by default, has established itself as a “speciesist” discipline by its practitioners. This essay breaks down common hesitations to engage in anim...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Journal of moral theology 2014-06, Vol.3 (2)
Main Author: John Berkman
Format: Article
Language:English
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:Catholic moral theology – consciously or unconsciously – has paid very little attention to the consideration of the moral import of non-human animals and, by default, has established itself as a “speciesist” discipline by its practitioners. This essay breaks down common hesitations to engage in animal ethics, examines prime work on the subfield – paragraphs 2145-2418 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church – as well as Albert the Great’s thoughts; and proposes a transformation of speciesism to ethology, considering seriously the possible goods – natural and supernatural – inherent in non-human animal nature.
ISSN:2166-2851
2166-2118