The Sanctity of Human Life
![]() 208 pp., 5.5 x 8.5 Hardcover ISBN: 9781589011762 (1589011767) 208 pp., 5.5 x 8.5 Paperback ISBN: 9781589015043 (1589015045) eBook ISBN: 9781589014664 E-Inspection Request E-Inspection April 2009 LC: 2007007013 EXPLORE THIS TITLE DescriptionTable of Contents Reviews |
The Sanctity of Human Life
David Novak
Winner of the 2008 Typographical Covers or Jackets, Large Non-Profit Publishers Category of the Washington Book Publishers Book and Design Effectiveness Awards
Heated debates are not unusual when confronting tough medical issues where it seems that moral and religious perspectives often erupt in conflict with philosophical or political positions. In The Sanctity of Human Life, Jewish theologian David Novak acknowledges that it is impossible not to take into account the theological view of human life, but the challenge is how to present the religious perspective to nonreligious people. In doing so, he shows that the two positions—the theological and the philosophical—aren't as far apart as they may seem. David Novak holds the J. Richard and Dorothy Shiff Chair of Jewish Studies as professor of the study of religion and professor of philosophy at the University of Toronto. In 2006 he was appointed as a member of the Canada Assisted Reproduction Agency.
Reviews
"Novak's voice deserves to be heard. This meticulously researched book reveals that there are multiple ways of examining the thorny bioethical issues of modern time."—JAMA (Journal of the American Medical Association) "Readers who appreciate erudite arguments and rigorous scholarship will be interested in this book."—The Catholic Register "The scope of the book is breathtaking and thought-provoking . . . Novak offers refreshingly complex assessments of the interface among biology, society, and morality. Furthermore, the book's explicitly metaphysical orientation is suggestive. The Sanctity of Human Life engages multiple methods and powerful convictions about human life's emergence, its endurance, and its dissolution. From beginning to end, this is no small feat."—American Journal of Bioethics "[The] strength of this work is that it is written from the point of view of a Jewish theologian who is also a trained philosopher in the natural law tradition . . . [The] emphasis on drawing from philosophy, theology, and political theory is commendable indeed. Novak honestly and forthrightly speaks of how his theology informs his ethics."—Christian Apologetics Journal Table of Contents Preface 1. On the Use of Embryonic Stem Cells Normative Questions and Normative Contexts Philosophy, Politics, and Theology and Their Interrelations The Status of the Embryo in Current Jewish Discussion Natural Law in Judaism Three Rabbinic Texts Pertaining to Abortion The Embryo before and after the Fortieth Day of Gestation Law and Scientific Evidence The Beginning of Human Life Permission or Obligation? Political Realities Notes 2. A Jewish Argument for Socialized Medicine Universal Health Care: Canada and the United States Moral and Theological Problems with the Practice of Medicine Medicine as a Sacred Profession Medicine as a Calling Nonsectarian Medicine Notes 3. Physician-Assisted Suicide Theology, Philosophy, and Politics Who is Guilty in Physician-Assisted Suicide? The Physician Kills the Patient The Physician Orders the Patient Killed The Physician Orders the Patient to Commit Suicide The Physician Prepares the Patient for Suicide Suicide as a Reflexive Act Suicide and Personal Responsibility Public Philosophy in a Secular Society Suicide: Public and Private Society's Claims on the Individual Person Struggling against the Politics of Death Notes Bibliography Index |