2E Bernard Hoose’s Proportionalism

Question 1

Give a background to proportionalism.

Answer 1

• Originated among Catholic scholars in 1960s; arose from the inc. concern that ethics in the C. trad. = too deontologically rigid
• McCormick: suggested that C. moral theology had “disowned an excessively casuistic approach to the moral life”
• Though prop. was formalised in the 1960s, the prop. approach is visible in the writings of Aquinas, as he said that it was permissible for a starving man to steal to save his life (but Aqu. did say that telling a lie to save a life is not lawful).
- Modern prop.s would question Aqu., asking why is it acceptable to steal to save a life but not lie?
- Hoose: “What the proportionalists have done is point out the inconsistency and invalidity of such thinking.”

Question 2

Who condemned proportionalism? What did he say?

Answer 2

• Pope John Paul II (‘Veritatis Splendor’ - 1993)

* “Proportionalism is wrong on the grounds that it denies that any action can be intrinsically evil.”

Question 3

What is Hoose’s proportionalist maxim?

Answer 3

• “it is never right to go against a principle unless there is a proportionate reason which would justify it.”
• You should always follow moral rules unless the breaking of one would create less evil
- e.g. the deontological sec.prec. that abortion is wrong, should always be followed, unless there is a prop. reason to abort the foetus

Question 4

What is meant by a proportionate reason?

Answer 4

• It should be based on the unique situation of the moral agent, including the intention, situation, and consequences of the moral agent
• The i.s.c must be sufficiently unusual and of sufficient magnitude to provide a reason that would overturn the rule
- e.g. abortion = wrong, unless (for example) it was an ectopic pregnancy
• Deontological moral laws derived from NL provide firm moral guidance which should not be ignored, unless it is justified by a proportionate reason

Question 5

What is a pre-moral evil?

Answer 5

• In Catholic theology, an act that is intrinsically/objectively evil
• I.e. evil in itself w/o any human intentions, the situation, or positive consequences
• E.g. Genocide (even if people found love out of the Holocaust, as was the case with Lale Sokolov and Gita Furman, it was still an intrinsically evil event)
• Prop.ists object to the idea that certain acts are intrinsically evil ∵ there will be exceptions due to the i.s.c. e.g. a surgeon carrying out an abortion on an ectopic pregnancy

Question 6

What is an ontic evil?

Answer 6

• Evils that occur naturally w/o a human moral element (natural, physical evil)
• Occurs due to the lack of perfection from the Fall
• E.g. human defects, natural disasters
• Prop. view: reflects the moral ambiguity of the universe that ‘pre-moral evils’ cannot always reflect
- An ontic evil like an ectopic pregnancy justifies abortion
• Louis Janssen (a prop.ist): “ontic evil for a human being is a lack of any part of his being or any power to act that belongs to human nature.”

Question 7

What is an evil moral (immoral) act?

Answer 7

• While p.m.e = intrinsically evil, e.m.a take into consideration the moral status of an act as defined by a consideration of the situation, intention (Finis operantis) and/or consequences (Finis operis)
• Some prop.s believe that no act = p.m.e, but Hoose’s version does not go this far. The prop.ist should still accept that p.m.es are e.m.as unless there is a prop. reason to justify breaking the p.m.e