Written by Fr Austin Fagothey, SJ

Published by TAN 2000 (2nd Edition 1959) paperback, 587 pages.

10% off due to slight damage to upper spine.

RIGHT AND REASON by Fr. Austin Fagothey, S.J. is probably the greatest and most successful Ethics book written to date. Widely used in Catholic colleges, it was undoubtedly the clearest and easiest-to-read Ethics text ever published. The author says that no book can take the place of a professor in the classroom, but this one virtually does—and Fr. Fagothey says he wrote it that way. Though this Second Edition was issued in 1959, it remains remarkably contemporary and is a book which can be read basically by an adult—either in toto or as a handy reference to look up topics in question. Phrased in non-technical language, RIGHT AND REASON is a thoroughly competent book in the philosophy of Ethics, which gives the science of morality from the Aristotelian-Thomistic, common-sense school of thought—which is none other than the Perennial Philosophy of the Ages, the philosophy outside of which one’s positions quickly become absurd and all reasoning ends up in dead-ends. Fr. Fagothey’s keen mind continually zeroes in on the essentials, precisely defining the questions and giving the soundest answers that Philosophy has to offer. (He states that, occasionally, for a completely satisfying answer, one must go to Theology.) Again and again, he clearly answers the questions, “WHAT,” “HOW” and “WHY,” without any excess verbiage. In 35 chapters he covers the whole field of Ethics, posing and answering the perennial questions; for example: What makes the right right and the wrong wrong? What is the moral obligation and where does it come from? Why is lying never right? Why is divorce always wrong? Why is abortion always wrong? What are the various systems of morality and what are their merits? When is it moral to kill another person? Do animals have rights? What is the origin of the State? Who has the right to educate? Is capital punishment ethical? Is there a right to work? What is a just wage? What is a just war? What is the principle of double effect? Are suicide and euthanasia against the Natural Law? Is there a Natural Law? Etc., etc.The classic principles of Ethics are as valid today as ever, and anyone who attempts to grapple with today’s new moral questions—in medical ethics, family issues, international relations, etc.—without a solid grounding in these classic principles is guaranteed to flounder around in the swamp of guesswork, emotional thinking and mere personal opinion> Every educated Catholic and every educated person—if he is to think correctly on moral issues—must be familiar with the great ethical questions and their classic solutions, solutions such as presented in Fr. Fagothey’s clear and masterful work, RIGHT AND REASON, , which for today’s confused world is a beacon of common sense written with an authoritative competence no one can effectively argue against.