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Aborting Aristotle
Sterrett, Dave
The abortion debate has returned. More than forty years have passed since the landmark decision Roe v. Wade, which legalized abortion in the United States. But the abortion debate continues to rage among ethicists and the influencers of society in politics, government, and the arts. Dave Sterrett’s Aborting Aristotle examines these essential differences philosophically, while investigating the naturalistic worldview about humanity that is frequently held by many of the scholarly defenders of abortion.
Each year 44 million babies are killed from intentional abortion around the world. 1.29 million babies are aborted right here in the United States. These are not just merely cold statistics: These are human beings . . . real babies.
Sterrett reveals the unreasonableness of abortion and argues against abortion even in the difficult circumstances. In the ancient world, infanticide was defended by Plato and Aristotle. Christians who believed in the sacredness of human life stopped infanticide and intellectually argued against the practice. Peter Singer, professor of ethics at Princeton, hopes the time has come for atheists to reassess the morality of infanticide “without assuming the Christian moral framework that has, for so long, prevented any fundamental reassessment” [Peter Singer, Practical Ethics (Cambridge University Press, UK; 1993), 173.] Dave Sterrett takes on Peter Singer, along with other scholarly defenders of abortion, including David Boonin, Michael Tooley, and Judith Jarvis Thomson. Although he is against Aristotle’s teaching in favor of abortion, Sterrett argues that Aristotle had much good in his metaphysical and logical teachings that Western education has forgotten.
Sterrett draws upon current scientific knowledge of the human embryo to provide reasons for a restoration of the Aristotelian scholastic philosophical tradition that could help ethicists become more open-minded about the dignity and personhood of unborn human beings.
“For a long time, not much progress has been made in the debate over abortion. In Aborting Aristotle, Dave Sterrett ably drills down to expose the different fundamental philosophical conceptions that underlie the current stalemate. The reader will learn how deep the conflict really runs.” —Lance Simmons, Professor of Philosophy, University of Dallas.
“Dave Sterrett’s book, Aborting Aristotle is one of the best, well documented and well-reasoned defences of the prolife position by a well-trained and experienced advocate. It is comprehensive, accurate, and well-argued. It is philosophically sound, scientifically up to date, and socially compelling.” —Norman Geisler, Professor of Philosophy and Ethics, Veritas Seminary
“Life issues are all too often considered as somehow separate from larger questions of morality and philosophy, so that even Christians may regard abortion as merely a political issue or a difficult private decision. Dave Sterrett’s approach to pro-life apologetics usefully challenges this compartmentalization, showing that the arguments about abortion are inextricably rooted in metaphysics, philosophy, and ethics.” —Holly Ordway, Director of the MA in Cultural Apologetics, Houston Baptist University, and author of Not God’s Type: An Atheist Academic Lays Down Her Arms (Ignatius Press)
“It is startling to see the faulty reasoning and questionable concepts undergirding the justifications for the practice of killing human beings in the womb. Sterrett’s book exposes the unreason in the defense of abortion.” —William A. Frank, Professor of Philosophy, University of Dallas
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.