The Priority of Persons Revisited

Authors

John Finnis, Notre Dame Law SchoolFollow

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

6-2013

Publication Information

58 Am. J. Juris. 45 (2013)

Abstract

This essay, in the context of a conference on justice, reviews and reaffirms the main theses of “The Priority of Persons” (2000), and supplements them with the benefit of hindsight in six theses. The wrongness of Roe v. Wade goes wider than was indicated. The secularist scientistic or naturalist dimension of the reigning contemporary ideology is inconsistent with the spiritual reality manifested in every word or gesture of its proponents. The temporal continuity of the existence of human persons and their communities is highly significant for the common good, which is the point and measure of social justice, properly understood. Forms of injustice that are more or less independent of this temporal dimension are nonetheless important. The nation and its lasting are neglected in much of the social-political theory assumed by contemporary legal theory. So too is the family and the “covenant” between its generations, a neglect that opens the door to euthanasia.

Recommended Citation

John Finnis, The Priority of Persons Revisited, 58 Am. J. Juris. 45 (2013).
Available at: https://scholarship.law.nd.edu/law_faculty_scholarship/1220