By JUDE DOUGHERTY
Berquist, Richard. From Human Dignity to Natural Law: An Introduction, Washington, D.C. (The Catholic University of America Press: 2019). Pp. Xvi + 242.
Conversant with contemporary literature in the field of ethics, Richard Berquist has chosen to avoid professional disputes in favor of a commonsense treatment of his subject. Drawing upon his long experience in the classroom, he offers what must be called a refreshing approach to his subject matter, a method that is well worth emulating. Dr. Berquist is Emeritus Professor of Philosophy at the University of St. Thomas in St. Paul. He is the author of A Commentary on the Posterior Analytics of St. Thomas.
After a brief period of teaching at St. John’s University, Long Island, he has spent the remainder of his career in St. Paul where he acquired his vocation in high school, due to a Christian brother introducing him to a work by Jacques Maritain.
The opening chapter of From Human Dignity to Natural Law begins with a question: Why is the wrongful killing of another human being wrong, and not just wrong from a point of view? For would it not be wrong at all times and in all cultures?
A second chapter is devoted to the topic “finality in nature,” a bugaboo for empiricists and atheists who find it difficult to deny the purposeful character of bodily organisms. Berquist asks: Does the process of organic development not take place for the sake of an end? The answer seems self-evident. In defending his thesis that a living thing is not a machine, he finds support from Aristotle’s argument in Book II of the Physics.
A subsequent chapter on happiness asks: What is the good to which we are ordained by nature? Happiness is the good which all seek, but not everyone has the same idea of what contributes to happiness. “Doing well,” “the good life,” and “flourishing” are descriptions that convey different things to different people.
Pleasure and honor may have the character of something ultimate, since desire comes to rest in pleasure, and efforts on behalf of worthy causes are usually rewarded with honors. People also name other goods when they have special needs — health, for example, in sickness, or companionship when they are lonely. Here Berquist directs the reader to Aristotle’s Book I of the Nicomachean Ethics.
A significant part of the book follows in Berquist’s discussion of the moral and intellectual virtues — moral virtues such as courage, temperance, and justice, and intellectual virtues, namely, prudence, art, science, and wisdom. He also speaks of social virtues such as friendliness, truthfulness, and wittiness.
Not until chapter five does he focus specifically on natural law. After defining law in general, he addresses the is/ought fallacy, speaks of law within the context of the common good and the principle of subsidiarity.
Fully one half of the book is devoted to what Berquist calls life issues. Two chapters are devoted to a defense of marriage and the family. Condemning the welfare state, he offers a compelling defense of natural rights — the right to life, freedom, and property. An insightful chapter is devoted to the contemplative life as lived in a religious community and in society at large.
Chapter Twelve, the final chapter of the book, is entitled “Natural Law and the Alternatives.” Since the natural law tends to be widely denied at present, Berquist rhetorically asks, why is this so? What prevents us from recognizing and accepting what seemed evident to earlier generations? If natural law is denied, are there any valid human laws?
This leads Berquist to examine some alternatives, namely, social contract theory, utilitarianism, Kant’s theory of the categorical imperative, and W.D. Ross’ theory of prima facie duties. Ross’ theory is less well known and thus merits explanation. Ross’ theory is based on a distinction between our actual desires and our prima facie duties. Among the latter are our duties to keep our promises, to speak truthfully, to make reparations for injuries to others, to repay benefits received from others, to promote the good of others and to promote one’s own perfections.
Berquist finds that, upon analysis, both Kant and Ross are in effect appealing to natural law.
There may be moral issues which have escaped Berquist’s attention, but the reader may find it hard to identify them. The book ends with the recognition that natural moral law may serve one well as a guide to the good life, but additional help comes with the recognition of divine law.
In his words, “For while the natural law can guide us in living rationally, it cannot satisfactorily explain the evils of the human condition, or reveal our ultimate destiny. Only God can unveil the mystery of life, showing us why we suffer the evils of the present life and how our natural desire for perfect happiness can be satisfied.”
(Jude P. Dougherty is Professor Emeritus and Dean Emeritus, the School of Philosophy, The Catholic University of America.)
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