Law's Virtues: Fostering Autonomy and Solidarity in American Society
Can the law promote moral values even in
pluralistic societies such as the United States? Drawing upon important federal
legislation such as the Americans with Disabilities Act, legal scholar and moral
theologian Cathleen Kaveny argues that it can. In conversation with thinkers as
diverse as Thomas Aquinas, Pope John Paul II, and Joseph Raz, she argues that
the law rightly promotes the values of autonomy and solidarity. At the same
time, she cautions that wise lawmakers will not enact mandates that are too far
out of step with the lived moral values of the actual community.
According to Kaveny, the law is best understood as a moral teacher
encouraging people to act virtuously, rather than a police officer requiring
them to do so. In Law's Virtues Kaveny expertly applies this theoretical
framework to the controversial moral-legal issues of abortion, genetics, and
euthanasia. In addition, she proposes a moral analysis of the act of voting, in
dialogue with the election guides issued by the US bishops. Moving beyond the
culture wars, this bold and provocative volume proposes a vision of the
relationship of law and morality that is realistic without being relativistic
and optimistic without being utopian.
