Some Ethical Questions of Peace and War was first published in 1919 shortly after the December 1918 General Election when Irish voters handed an electoral mandate to the Sinn Fein party. Walter McDonald was horrified that much of the Catholic Church, as Tom Garvin writes in the Introduction, 'could be accused of following popular passion rather than trying to moderate and enlighten popular opinion, arguably the true function of a Catholic priest'. McDonald's view was that the British state had been regarded as legitimate by the Church and most people on the island for a long time. He was a loyal member of the Church but believed that its hostility to freedom of thought, free speech and intellectual enquiry would endanger its future. He also argues against those nationalists who had supported the prospect of a German victory in the First World War, which in his view would have brought about the ruin of Britain and Ireland. McDonald knew that his views were controversial but he was also aware when he wrote the book that he had a short time to live. This neglected but fascinating book provides an unusual insight into the thinking of the time.

This Is A New Release Of The Original 1904 Edition.

The book will be read to little advantage if two salient ideas are not seized on and submitted to thorough examination: those of Philosophical Sin and of Material Sin. A firm grasp of what these two things mean must, the author is convinced, preserve the student from a deal of confusion and of error that are by no means uncommon. Possibly even the professor; some reviewers certainly. Those, for instance, who profess to find light and leading in the ethical writings of Kant, might decide whether the external act of murder or robbery, committed in good faith and with whatever motive you will, is wrong, according to that philosopher; might explain, if it is, where the categorical imperative comes in to make it wrong; and show, if it is not, how Kant's is anything else than an ethics-madeeasy system of moral science. Disciples of the Schoolmen, too, who admit no ethical quality in any act which is not free, might tell us whether the lunatic who attacks one with sword or gun is or is not an unjust aggressor; if not, why one may kill him in self defence; and if his assault is unjust, how it is not thereby stamped as ethical. Those, too, who require for moral goodness reference of an act to God as last end, might say how the concept of philosophical morality is not as intrinsically absurd as that of a square circle; seeing that the act of one who knows no God, and can refer no act to Him, can no more be conceived as good, in the sense of being referred to God as last end, than a geometrical figure can be conceived as being at once square and circular Similarly, those who defend probabilism on the ground that a doubtful law cannot bind, might ask themselves whether non-observance of such a law may result in material sin, however you may have convinced yourself that the non-observance is justified; and might, in case they find it so, think out the question how a law that does not bind can beget even material sin. These are some of the questions that occurred to me when reflecting on the two fundamental concepts of this book: Material Sin and Philosophical Sin. The book itself is the result of these and other such reflections.

1904. In this book, McDonald endeavored to state, in language as clear and simple as the subject permits, the principles of ethics that have been handed down by a tradition of many centuries in the Catholic schools of theology and philosophy. Some of the important conclusions which McDonald arrived at differ from those of the ordinary handbooks on Human Acts, Laws, and Conscience, and are not to be found in any published treatise with which he was acquainted.

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger Publishing's Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone

This scarce antiquarian book is a selection from Kessinger PublishingA AcentsAcentsa A-Acentsa Acentss Legacy Reprint Series. Due to its age, it may contain imperfections such as marks, notations, marginalia and flawed pages. Because we believe this work is culturally important, we have made it available as part of our commitment to protecting, preserving, and promoting the world's literature. Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of intere

Some Ethical Questions of Peace and War was first published in 1919 shortly after the December 1918 General Election when Irish voters handed an electoral mandate to the Sinn Fein party. Walter McDonald was horrified that much of the Catholic Church, as Tom Garvin writes in the Introduction, 'could be accused of following popular passion rather than trying to moderate and enlighten popular opinion, arguably the true function of a Catholic priest'. McDonald's view was that the British state had been regarded as legitimate by the Church and most people on the island for a long time. He was a loyal member of the Church but believed that its hostility to freedom of thought, free speech and intellectual enquiry would endanger its future. He also argues against those nationalists who had supported the prospect of a German victory in the First World War, which in his view would have brought about the ruin of Britain and Ireland. McDonald knew that his views were controversial but he was also aware when he wrote the book that he had a short time to live. This neglected but fascinating book provides an unusual insight into the thinking of the time.

Some Ethical Questions of Peace and War was first published in 1919 shortly after the December 1918 General Election when Irish voters handed an electoral mandate to the Sinn Fein party. Walter McDonald was horrified that much of the Catholic Church, as Tom Garvin writes in the Introduction, 'could be accused of following popular passion rather than trying to moderate and enlighten popular opinion, arguably the true function of a Catholic priest'. McDonald's view was that the British state had been regarded as legitimate by the Church and most people on the island for a long time. He was a loyal member of the Church but believed that its hostility to freedom of thought, free speech and intellectual enquiry would endanger its future. He also argues against those nationalists who had supported the prospect of a German victory in the First World War, which in his view would have brought about the ruin of Britain and Ireland. McDonald knew that his views were controversial but he was also aware when he wrote the book that he had a short time to live. This neglected but fascinating book provides an unusual insight into the thinking of the time.

In this book, McDonald endeavored to state, in language as clear and simple as the subject permits, the principles of ethics that have been handed down by a tradition of many centuries in the Catholic schools of theology and philosophy. Some of the important conclusions which McDonald arrived at differ from those of the ordinary handbooks on Human Acts, Laws, and Conscience, and are not to be found in any published treatise with which he was acquainted.