Summary of Matters of Life and Death - Calm Answers to Tough - Book Report/Review Example

 Topic: topic is the book in the order description Book: Matters of Life and Death: Calm answers to Tough. Purpose The materialistic civilization, the industrial and internet revolutions, and the stunning scientific discoveries continue to pose challenging situations before the humankind. One finds it difficult to sustain and nurture the religious beliefs. An individual get confused to find the distinctions and differences between spirituality, religion, morals and ethics. Economic problems,and the increase in violence-based incidents, shake one's faith in divinity. One constantly wonders why this is happening in God's world and why He can not control them. Human beings, both secular and spiritual, wish to establish heaven on earth, through their own pursuits. Some success is achieved, but sooner or later, this success cycle is trailed by failures in one form or the other. Nature intervenes, and the failures are in the form of massive destruction (like floods and earthquakes), fatal disease and so on. How to find the right frame of mind and retain peace within, is the question! The authors, in every possible way, and in every subject they have tackled, have shown how spirituality can provide the final answer, by taking mind-guided activities to the cosmic connector--soul--which can unveil the whole repository of affluence to be used for the welfare of the entire humankind. The purpose of the authors, as evident in various chapters of the book is to kindle spirituality and spread it. Such a spiritual individual is ever calm and the worst situation in the world outside can do any harm, as his mind is ever established in the realm of peace. The tough issue of abortion deserves to be tackled with spiritual calm. Premises This 391 pages book is divided into two categories. It can be termed as a socio-spiritual book. If one agrees—that which is not practical, can not be spiritual either—this is the book one has to read. The practical problems of the secular life have been dealt with in detail. They are a source of information as well as religious guidance. The chapters are Abortion and Euthanasia, questions related to Medical, Legal, Moral and social are discussed in depth. The Appendices is a good source of information and covers Roe v. Wade (1973), Doe v. Bolton (1973), Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989), Cruzan v. Harmon (1990), A Living Will (sample), and the Beginning of Individual Life. Extensive bibliography and index. Tremendous resource. Pro-life position. Method of argumentation The methods of arguments are evidence-based and faith-based. One find harmonious combination of both. They greatly value the scientific approach and at the same time make aware the readers, the limitations of the scientific research. Science is mind-related. It desires proof and verification at every stage of the research. Spirituality transcends the mind and reveals about direct-experiencing. That level is beyond the reach of words or speech. In defense of their stand the authors provide the example of civil disobedience as related to abortion. They pose a question whether civil disobedience movement is morally justified and provide answer: In history, there are many cases of civil disobedience which seem morally justified. Some of them are, the early Christian church's refusal to obey the government's directives not to preach the gospel; Martin Luther King, Jr.'s refusal to obey racially discriminating laws; Christians' violation of religiously oppressive laws when smuggling Bibles and for doing missionary work. Every argument is supported by the authority of religious scriptures and/or historical evidence. Evidence adduced in favor of arguments. Apart from their own arguments and convictions, the authors have consulted intellectuals/authors and have freely accessed their latest views and arguments. For example, quotations/extracts from Baruch Brody, Abortion and the Sanctity of Human Life: A Philosophical View (Cambridge, MA: M.I.T. Press, 1975)Andrew Varga, The Main Issues in Bioethics, 2d ed. (New York: Paulist Press, 1984), 61-62, A. Chadwick Ray, "Humanity, Personhood, and Abortion," International Philosophical Quarterly 25 (1985):238, Jane English, "Abortion and the Concept of a Person," in Biomedical Ethics, ed. Thomas A. Mappes and Jane S. Zembatty (New York: McGraw-Hill, 1981), 430, Webster v. Reproductive Health Services (1989) in United States Law Week 57 (July 1989):5040, Richard Werner, "Abortion: The Practice 3 (1974):201-22, Joel Feinberg, "Grounds For Coercion," in Ethical Theory and Social Issues, ed. David Theo Goldberg (New York: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1989), 307-15, Peter Kreeft, "Human Personhood Begins at Conception," in Journal of Biblical Ethics in Medicine 4 (Winter 1990):11, Michael Tooley, Abortion and Infanticide (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1983). in Biomedical Ethics, 417-23, James Rachels, The End of Life (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986). For a critical analysis of this book, see J. P. Moreland's review in The Thomist 53 (Oct. 1989):714-22, Virginia Ramey Mollenkott, "Reproducive Choice: Basic to Justice for Women," Christian Scholar's Review 17 (March 1988):286-93, Tooley, 167. In rebuttal, see David Clark, "An Evaluation of the Quality of Life Argument for Infanticide," Simon Greenleaf Law Review 5 (1985-86):104-8; and Richard A. McCormick, S.J., How Brave a New World? Dilemmas in Bioethics (Washington, DC: Georgetown University Press, 1981), 157-59, John Jefferson Davis, Abortion and the Christian (Phillipsburg, NJ: Presbyterian and Reformed Publishing Co., 1984), 57,29 Daniel Callahan, Abortion: Law, Choice, and Morality (New York: Macmillan, 1970); and Robert Wennberg, Life in the Balance: Exploring the Abortion Controversy (Grand Rapids, MI: Williams B. Eerdmans Publishing Co., 1985), Philip Devine, The Ethics of Homicide (Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 1979); Robert E. Joyce, "Personhood and the Conception Event," The New Scholasticism 52 (Winter 1978):104-9; J. P. Moreland and Norman L. Geisler, The Life and Death Debate: Moral Issues of Our Time (Westport, CT: Praeger Books, 1990), 31-34, Moreland and Geisler, The Life and Death Debate; and Francis J. Beckwith and Norman L. Geisler, Matters of Life and Death: Calm Answers to Tough Questions about Abortion and Euthanasia (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1991), part 2, Justice Harry Blackmun, in "The 1973 Supreme Court Decisions on State Abortion Laws: Excerpts from Opinion in Roe v. Wade," in The Problem of Abortion, 2d ed., ed. Joel Feinberg (Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, 1984), 195. The outcome of such painstaking research and hard-work,is the book under review which has seen the light of the day. They have covered the essence required for their arguments from the above galaxy of resources and the reader gets the current thinking on the subject and is able to deduce one's own conclusions. A critical evaluation of the book in light of the material discussed in the course. The important topic that has tremendous importance to humanity in the present times is abortion. Many governments are encouraging family planning(and abortion is one of the tools accepted as a matter of policy) to control population explosion. From the religious quarters this stance is strongly opposed. Beckwith answers the arguments for abortion rights and issues like when does a human becomes a person. Such arguments are related to the decisive moment theories. Some biochemists believe that full humanness begins when the brain starts functioning, which is first detected by the electroencephalogram (EEG) at about 40 to 43 days after conception. Whereas religious leaders do go by faith on such issues, it is difficult to trust the scientific findings as well. Scientific research is a continuous process and what is concluded as a fact today, will be negatived by science, after further research on the subject. There is nothing finality in science, on the issues of religious contentions. Because science itself is imperfect and incomplete in the absence of access to total knowledge. Address the issue of whether the writer(s) competently accomplished their goal(s)? The authors are eminently suited to write this book and comment on the subjects covered and their qualifications are mind-boggling. Francis J. Beckwith is Professor of Philosophy & Church-State Studies at Baylor University. He teaches in several other important religious institutions. He was born in 1960, and has modern, scientific outlook. He is an outstanding sportsperson as well. He is a graduate of Fordham University (Ph.D. and M.A. in philosophy)and holds several other degrees. His books on abortion are popular and he has won many awards. A number of important journals like Harvard Journal of Law& Public Policy, have published his articles. He is known for his teaching excellence, with many teaching awards in his basket. In January 2008 he was selected as the 2007 Person of the Year by Inside the Vatican Magazine. He and his wife, Frankie, are parishioners of St. Joseph's Catholic Church, and live in Wood- way, Texas. It is rather difficult to find another individual of such eminence and so knowledgeable to write on the subjects dealt with in the book. The authors have accomplished their goals admirably. The important issue tackled by the authors to find an amicable point of view as for abortion and the right of the unborn to live. They have taken the support of biblical cases of justified civil disobedience. “(1) the state commands the believer to do something contrary to the Word of God; (2) the command is disobeyed; and (3) there is explicit or implicit divine approval of the refusal to obey the state.” Are there any significant weaknesses in the work? Strength of weakness of any book is a matter of opinion. The authors have deliberated on highly controversial subjects, and they have done their best to justify their positions. I am unable to find any weakness in such a well-studied work. The authors are sincere as for their faith, and have excellent backgrounder information as for the topics dealt with. Evidence has been produced before coming to conclusions. One may not agree with their conclusions—but it is altogether a different issue. What are its strengths? In a book that has 4 parts, in series I, four basic types of arguments have been critiqued relating to arguments tendered in defense of liberal and moderate views on abortion rights. They are arguments from pity, arguments from tolerance, ad hominem arguments and arguments from decisive moments. The authors have given defense of the pro-life position with the contention that full humanness begins at conception and the process of fetal development. But they have not dealt with some theological arguments and some not much known philosophical arguments. Their conclusion is, both sound and philosophical; scientific reasoning clearly establishes the full humanness of the unborn from the moment of conception. They again and again support this position with solid and unassailable reasoning. Their question—at what stage the embryo achieves full humanness, what is that decisive moment, is a question that is impossible to answer for the votaries of abortion. The gradual physical development of the unborn is a decided fact but that is true of the humans at the later stages of life also—like infancy, childhood, adolescence, and old age. One can not therefore, conclude that unborn human is less important than the infant, child or the adolescent. They are fully human, even-though they are gradually developing. The authors also dismiss the arguments by appealing to emotion by giving reasons such as financial burden or the child's potential handicap. When it is agreed that the unborn entity is fully human, one needs to respect her life as one respects the lives of those who are already born. What are some of the most valuable points you learned from the book and can apply? Personally, I am against abortion. The excuse of population explosion is unacceptable to me, as nature finds its own ways to maintain balance. No one gets permission to be born; none gets permission to die. Such acts are the will of the divinity. This book has further strengthened my beliefs through convincing arguments, like--the fetus within requires nourishment from outside, and yet it has the power to use that nourishment appropriately and grow-- The fetus has an independent identity, though it is 'imprisoned' for a fixed period within mother's womb. To give an example, its position is like a prisoner, who is under the protective custody of the prison administration. They are supposed to take care of the prisoner, for a fixed period-- fixed by the judicial authority and do not have the right to play with his life. The authors also provide the example of a person in sleep. Is it reasonable to terminate the life of an individual asleep, unconsciousness, or temporary comatose or for that matter a helpless newborn, the authors ask. No reasonable person, so science can say that such individual is not a person as long as one is in that state. So, to define parenthood in terms of function is inadequate. That is too strict an approach, which can not be accepted by the right-thinking people. But at the same time, the authors warn, that the abortion-rights advocate would like to argue that sleeping etc. persons were in existence at one time and the analogy given by the anti-abortionists is not acceptable. Such is the types of secular mind-level arguments. For every question, there is bound to be a counter-question, when an individual fails to appreciate the spiritual essence related to the topic. The authors have tried their best to elucidate this position. But proper understanding and perfect harmony is possible, only between two individuals who are spiritually evolved. If one does not possess that trait, agreement on conclusions is not possible. The authors caution the readers to be aware of such limitations. ************** . ============================================================== Works Cited: Beckwith, Francis j(Author), Geisler, Norman L(Author).Matters of Life and Death: Calm Answers to Tough Questions About Abortion and Euthanasia; Baker Pub Group, May 1992. Read More