Retrieving the Natural Law

Restating what all people intuit and what this means in moral, specifically bioethical, discourse is the raison d'etre for this volume. J. Daryl Charles argues that a traditional metaphysics of natural law lies at the heart of the present reconstructive project, and that a revival in natural-law thinking is of the highest priority for the Christian community as we contend in, rather than abdicate, the public square. Nowhere is this more on display than in the realm of bioethics, where the most basic moral questions - human personhood, human rights versus responsibilities, the reality of moral evil, the basis of civil society - are being debated. With his timely application of natural-law thinking to the field of bioethics, Charles seeks to breathe new life back into this key debate.

J. Daryl Charles is William E. Simon Visiting Fellow in Religion and Public Life, James Madison Program, Princeton University.