
Contents
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I. First Things I. First Things
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II. Secundum Quid II. Secundum Quid
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III. Tertium Datur III. Tertium Datur
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References References
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14 Jephthah’s Plight: Moral Dilemmas and Theism
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Published:May 2015
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Abstract
A goal of many ethical theories is to insure that they never result in moral dilemmas, situations in which, no matter what an agent does, the agent does something wrong. This chapter classifies different kinds of moral dilemmas and exposes a common misinterpretation of Aquinas that maintains that God’s edicts never confront an agent with a dilemma unless the agent has previously done something wrong that entraps the agent. The argument of this chapter is that a theistic theory can countenance dilemmas without impugning God. The central test case is the plight of Jephthah, who both should and should not sacrifice his daughter. The chapter argues that in a normative theory, guidance and appraisal can come apart. A limiting case of a dilemma is a monolemma, a case in which an agent can do only one thing, and that thing is wrong. Monolemmas challenge the principle that “ought” implies “can.”
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