Ralph
McInerny is best known as the author of the Father Dowling mysteries.
His day job, however, was professor of philosophy at Notre Dame, in
which role he gained notice as part of the Neo-Thomist revival begun by
Pope Leo XIII and continued by such luminaries as Jacques Maritain and
Etienne Gilson.
The Question of Christian Ethics was originally a
series of lectures delivered in 1990, exploring whether it is possible
to have a Christian ethical philosophy, or indeed any Christian
philosophy at all. That is, can there be a philosophy which is neither
entirely unconnected to Christianity (even if it is held by some
believing Christians) nor entirely theological and therefore not
properly philosophical? Can a Christian be a philosopher without
sacrificing reason to faith or faith to reason?
As a Thomist, McInerny's answer is, predictably, "Yes." To
deny this, McInerny asserts, is for the believer to deny the possibility
of natural law and for the nonbeliever to deny much of the Western
philosophical tradition. This short work is a rousing presentation of
the possibility that the Christian philosopher can follow the instruction
of St Boethius and "fidem rationemque coniunge" - wed faith and reason.
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