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Robert Spaemann, Love and the Dignity of Human Life: On Nature and Natural Law (Grand Rapids, MI : Eerdmans, 2012), 79 pp., US $12.00, ISBN 9780802866936.

Robert Spaemann, Love and the Dignity of Human Life: On Nature and Natural Law (Grand Rapids, MI... In his engaging work on theological anthropology, Robert Spaemann addresses the matter of human nature from a natural law and theological perspective that is rooted in the Catholic tradition of thought. The book is comprised of three chapters that were originally presented at the 2010 McGivney Lectures of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family (The Catholic University of America). Spaemann addresses the fundamental questions on the nature of human beings in fresh and creative ways by bringing the natural law tradition of old with a kind of personalism into dialogue with contemporary issues such as ethics, technology, neuroscience, medicine, and, more specifically, in the context of the German constitution (Spaemann’s home). He argues that humans have dignity grounded in the relationship to others and to God, wherein the fulfilment of ‘nature’—that is, human nature—can only actualize itself in the context of love (where both the constraints of nature are at work with freedom). This, then, avoids reductive understandings of the self that are seen in physicalism, reductive accounts of persons, and utilitarian views often found dominating the medical sciences (most clearly seen in the third and final chapter). Spaemann addresses three broad http://www.deepdyve.com/assets/images/DeepDyve-Logo-lg.png Journal of Reformed Theology Brill

Robert Spaemann, Love and the Dignity of Human Life: On Nature and Natural Law (Grand Rapids, MI : Eerdmans, 2012), 79 pp., US $12.00, ISBN 9780802866936.

Journal of Reformed Theology , Volume 8 (3): 334 – Jan 1, 2014

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Publisher
Brill
Copyright
Copyright 2014 by Koninklijke Brill NV, Leiden, The Netherlands.
ISSN
1872-5163
eISSN
1569-7312
DOI
10.1163/15697312-00803018
Publisher site
See Article on Publisher Site

Abstract

In his engaging work on theological anthropology, Robert Spaemann addresses the matter of human nature from a natural law and theological perspective that is rooted in the Catholic tradition of thought. The book is comprised of three chapters that were originally presented at the 2010 McGivney Lectures of the Pontifical John Paul II Institute for Studies on Marriage and Family (The Catholic University of America). Spaemann addresses the fundamental questions on the nature of human beings in fresh and creative ways by bringing the natural law tradition of old with a kind of personalism into dialogue with contemporary issues such as ethics, technology, neuroscience, medicine, and, more specifically, in the context of the German constitution (Spaemann’s home). He argues that humans have dignity grounded in the relationship to others and to God, wherein the fulfilment of ‘nature’—that is, human nature—can only actualize itself in the context of love (where both the constraints of nature are at work with freedom). This, then, avoids reductive understandings of the self that are seen in physicalism, reductive accounts of persons, and utilitarian views often found dominating the medical sciences (most clearly seen in the third and final chapter). Spaemann addresses three broad

Journal

Journal of Reformed TheologyBrill

Published: Jan 1, 2014

There are no references for this article.