Aborting Aristotle – Examining the Fatal Fallacies in the Abortion Debate

Dave Sterrett, author of seven books including the Christian best-seller I Am Second (Thomas Nelson), holds graduate degrees from the University of Dallas and Southern Evangelical Seminary. He has lectured on bioethics and natural theology at many universities. He is the national director of outreach for Online for Life and serves on the national board of 40 Days for Life.

• TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION 2. ARISTOTLE & THOMAS JEFFERSON 3. METAPHYSICS IS ESSENTIAL TO THE ETHICAL DEBATE ON ABORTION. 4. DENYING THE METAPHYSICS OF PERSONS IS SELF-REFUTING. 5. LACKING EPISTEMOLOGICAL PRECISENESS CONCERNING HUMAN BEINGS DOES NOT DISPROVE THE TRUTH ABOUT THEIR EXISTENCE ONTOLOGICALLY. 6. NATURALISTIC MATERIALISM IS NOT THE BEST EXPLANATION FOR REALITY 7. THE TERMS “SANCTITY” AND “NATURAL THEOLOGY” SHOULD NOT NECESSARILY BE DISMISSED IN PHILOSOPHY OR LAW BECAUSE IT MIGHT HAVE IMPLICATIONS OF THE DIVINE. God is the best explanation for a first efficient cause. God is the best explanation for a necessary entity. God is the best explanation for moral realism. 8. ARISTOTLE’S ANCIENT CONCEPT OF SUBSTANCE IS STILL RELEVANT AND COMPATIBLE WITH SCIENCE. 9. ALL HUMANS ARE PERSONS. 10. All HUMAN PERSONS ARE SOMEONE FOR WHOM THEY ARE AND NOT SOMEONE FOR WHAT THEY DO. 11. CONCLUSION: SIMILARITIES AND DIFFERENCES There can be a greater purpose in some suffering encountered in life. Humans are responsible for what they could have prevented. Racism is wrong. Animals should be treated with respect. A fetus is an individual member of the species homo sapiens. Philosophers’ ethical stance of abortion is frequently rooted in their metaphysical beliefs. Those in favor of abortion frequently emphasize hypotheticals, while defenders of life use Aristotlean logic with premises about real life. 11. BIBLIOGRAPHY Index