Sumner B. Twiss

Torture, Justification, and Human Rights: Toward an Absolute Proscription

This article critically examines and develops an important approach in the international human rights community to the moral justification of an absolute proscription of torture, or, alternatively put, to the cogency of a non-derogative right not to be tortured. This approach involves elements of moral intuitionism, a minimal natural law position, and consequentialist arguments that ought—taken together or independently—to be convincing to all people of good will, regardless of their cultural location. The essay deploys sources from international human rights, comparative and philosophical ethics, and empirical and NGO studies about the intrinsic nature and pervasive deleterious effects of torture practices.

Religious Diversity and American Religious History: Studies in Traditions and Cultures

The ten essays in this volume explore the vast diversity of religions in the United States, from Judaic, Catholic, and African American to Asian, Muslim, and Native American traditions. Chapters on religion and the South, religion and gender, indigenous sectarian religious movements, and the metaphysical tradition round out the collection.The contributors examine the past, present, and future of American religion, first orienting readers to historiographic trends and traditions of interpretation in each area, then providing case studies to show their vision of how these areas should be developed. Full of provocative insights into the complexity of American religion, this volume helps us better understand Americas religious history and its future challenges and directions.

Religion and public policy : human rights, conflict, and ethics

Foreword Monica Duffy Toft Introduction Sumner B. Twiss Part I. Normative Prospects: Human Rights Ideas and Religious Ethics: 1. David Little: a modern Calvinist architect of human rights John Witte, Jr 2. On reformed Christianity and natural human rights Gene Outka 3. Roger Williams and freedom of conscience and religion as a natural right Sumner B. Twiss 4. Islam and human rights: the religious and the secular in conversation Abdulaziz Sachedina 5. On grounding human rights: variations on themes by Little John P. Reeder, Jr 6. From human rights to animal rights? Grace Yia-Hei Kao 7. Nibbana, dhamma, and sinhala Buddhism: a David Little retrospective Donald K. Swearer 8. The present state of the comparative study of religious ethics: an update John Kelsay Part II. Functional Prospects: Religion, Public Policy, and Conflict: 9. Religion, ethics, and war: David Little and ecumenical ethics J. Bryan Hehir 10. War and the right to life: Orthodox Christian perspectives Marian Gh. Simion 11. Swords to ploughshares, theory to practice: an evolution of religious peacemaking at USIP Susan Hayward 12. Religion and multi-track diplomacy Rodney L. Petersen 13. Developing a human rights lens on religious peacemaking Scott Appleby 14. Toward a polycentric approach to conflict transformation Atalia Omer 15. Rethinking Islamic politics: bringing the state back in Scott Hibbard 16. Religion and politics: seeking a reconciliation Natalie Sherman and David Gergen 17. The core of public reason: freedom from arbitrary pain and death Christian Rice Afterword David Little.

ETHICAL ISSUES IN PRIORITY-SETTING FOR THE UTILIZATION OF GENETIC TECHNOLOGIES

Attempting t o set priorities for the development and use of genetic knowledge is a difficult task. On the one hand, many authorities in biomedicine, economics, law and public policy recognize the need t o develop such priorities if only because of the acute problems posed by scarce medical resources and economic constraints. On the other hand, many authorities in these fields also recognize that any promising area of biomedical technology can realize its potential only when it is permitted t o be quite diversified in its approaches. These two acknowledgments represent conflicting forces with legitimate claims in the health-care field. However, more often than not, it is the second that is taken (uncritically) as the decisive factor in applied human genetics. Indeed, James Neel, one geneticist who has written about priorities in genetics, concludes his discussion with the following observation: