Full Description
The intense fervor of a Mississippi Methodist preacher, the meticulous reasoning of an Oxford logician, the dogged persistence of a head longshoreman, the unflagging humor of a Rabelaisian satirist. To have met Paul Ramsey at a lecture in a medical university; a heady conference at Hastings-on Hudson; a congressional hearing; deliberations at a church assembly; or a bull session in some coffee shop was to be confronted with a gentleman of unforgettable energy, insight, and delight. In many roles--as a young instructor in religious studies at Princeton University, a concerned moral theologian commenting on the ethics of the "sit-ins" and nuclear issues, an observer and dialogue partner with physicians at Georgetown and other medical centers, a faithful editor and analyst of Jonathan Edwards' ethical writings, a trustee of the Hastings center, a voluminous correspondent with others who would join to disciplined pursuit of values--Paul Ramsey in all roles was indefatigable in zeal, rigorous in demand and gracious in coadventuring (to use one of his wonderful metaphors). This volume captures a unique exchange between Paul Ramsey and his most prominent colleagues. In one sense it remains a Festschrift in his honor, characterized, at times, by a markedly informal tone.
Contents
Introduction: The Theological, Medical and Philosophical Contexts of Paul Ramsey's Medical Ethics.- Covenant-Centered Ethics: The Theological Context Of Paul Ramsey's Medical Ethics.- Paul Ramsey's Ethic of Covenant Fidelity.- Discerning Stewardship: Contemporary Philosophy and the Legacy of Paul Ramsey's Medical Ethics.- I: Fundamental Issues.- Keeping Body and Soul Together.- The Right to Life and Human Dignity.- Applied Ethics and Communities of Value: The Distinctiveness of Medical Ethics.- Response I.- II: Theological Issues.- In Partnership With God: Health, Healing, and Jewish Tradition.- Technology and Tragedy: An Evangelical Theology of Care.- Response II.- III: Medical Issues.- The Devil's Being God's Best Inspiration: The Boundary between Research and Care.- Telling and Keeping Still; Reviving and Letting Go: The Ethics of "Do Not Resuscitate" Procedures.- Ramsey as Trellis: Paul Ramsey and the Evolution of Pediatric Medical Ethics.- Response III.- Should Physicians Hasten the Death Angel when She Paused In Her Flight? Peter T. Bohan Lecture in the Philosophy of Medicine.- An Interview With Paul Ramsey.
