Books by "Robert Thomas Shannon"
7 books found
A Brief, Liberal, Catholic Defense of Abortion
by Daniel A. Dombrowski, Robert John Deltete
2000 · University of Illinois Press
The Catholic church has always opposed abortion, but -- contrary to popular belief -- not always for the same reasons. This tightly argued, historically grounded study sets out to demonstrate that a "pro-choice" stance, now held by a significant minority of Catholics, is as fully justified by Catholic thought as an anti-abortion view, and may even be more compatible with Catholic tradition than the current opposition to abortion espoused by many Catholics and most Catholic leaders. A Brief, Liberal, Catholic Defense of Abortion argues that the current Catholic anti-abortion stance is justified neither by modern embryology nor by ancient church teachings. Combining up-to-date information on fetal development with a thorough grasp of the works of the church's early thinkers, Daniel A. Dombrowski and Robert Deltete expose crucial contradictions between the early and the modern church's views of abortion. Returning to the writings of two pillars of early Christian thought, Sts. Augustine and Thomas Aquinas, the authors show that abortion was originally condemned by the church on the grounds of perversity, since it nullified the only permissible reason for sexual relations: procreation. Only in more recent times has the view arisen of abortion as indefensible on the ontological grounds that human personhood begins at the moment of conception. The authors demonstrate that the early church's view of fetal development -- delayed hominization, in which the fetus is endowed with a human soul only when it achieves a physical human body -- is diametrically opposed to the current anti-abortion stance. In fact, the authors show, the insistence on immediate hominization that provides thefoundation for the current "pro-life" view stems from two seventeenth-century scientific misconceptions -- preformationism and the homunculus -- that have since been thoroughly discredited. By considering the history of Catholic thought in its relation to the history of science, Dombrowski and Deltete bring a new level of detail and focus to the abortion debate. Their thoughtful, measured argument provides a fresh perspective that will benefit participants on all sides of the controversy.
Issues in American Political Life
by Robert Thobaben, Charles Funderburk, Donna Schlagheck
2015 · Routledge
A core text for undergraduate courses in American Public Policy, or supplemental reading in such courses as Introduction to American Government or Politics, American Public Policy Analysis, Introduction to Political Science. A substantive alternative to typical "issues" texts-which cover too many issues, too superficially-this intriguing and comprehensive text offers a more in-depth and coherent approach to contemporary policy problems and solutions. It provides a conceptual framework in which students can become comfortable actually doing policy analysis, and in learning skills beyond reading about certain political issues. Thematically organized, it looks at nine specific issues grouped into three broad categories that hold an enduring importance in American political life-money and politics, violence and politics, and biology and politics. All nine chapters and their respective topics (campaigns, corruption, welfare, crime, terrorism, arms control, the environment, biomedical issues, and biotechnology) have a strong conceptual base with current political dimensions and policy concerns woven throughout. Students not only learn the context, status, and prospects of issues confronting the U.S. government, but also see how these issues now cross our domestic borders into a global realm.
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