In Feminism And Christian Ethics, Lisa Sowle Cahill argues that feminist ethics has much to offer Catholicism. For one, the main issues that concern feminist ethics arebasically the same ones that make up Catholic identity. That is, how women and mendefine themselves in society, what means are available to them for attaining their ends- inshort inter personal and social relations. Second, the founding principles that guidefeminist ethics are rooted in the tradition of natural law, a tradition well known toCatholicism. So, while the approach of feminist ethics has been to scrutinize traditionswhich seek to oppress women by supporting unequal social structures, the guidingprinciples behind feminist ethics still remain well lodge in natural law. As Cahill says, itis in the founding principles of natural law where feminist ethics and Catholicism meet. And it is also here where lies the main contribution of feminist ethics for the future ofCatholicism. Cahill shows us, how recent studies done on Aquinas natural law disclosethat Aquinas based his ethics on very general principles. That is to say, Aquinasunderstood the complexity of life, and, unlike what most believe, he was cautious aboutgenerating a rigid ethics that would oppress individuals. Aquinas believed that moraldiscourse to be truly ethical must first and most importantly begin with an understandingof the structures of society and the culture under which individuals live. Hence, Aquinaslooked forward to developing a contextual ethics, and was cautious about generating thetypes of absolutes and universal principles that were later integrated into his theology. Although, Aquinas believed that universals were still possible, he nevertheless, believedthat these could only come after considering everything that makes up human existence.Thus, given Aquinas understanding of society as a vehicle that brings people together tostrive for the common good, a reconciliation is ...
