Bioethics, a <i>Very</i> Different St. Benedict, and Rhetoricity: A Response to Critiques of <i>Ethics Lost in Modernity</i>

Abstract This essay responds to two thoughtful critiques of Ethics Lost in Modernity. Responding to Karches and Tate, I first address familiar critiques of H. Tristram Engelhardt’s description of moral “strangers” and “friends” in the new context of Ludwig Wittgenstein’s ethical thought before turning to the question of how Christian bioethics should engage with modernity. My response seeks to bring clarity and nuanced attention to layers of meaning in “stranger” and “modernity.” Responding to Robin, I focus on the apophatic similarities between Levinas and Wittgenstein that figure notably within their respective views on language and ethics. Lastly, following insights from Richard Weaver on rhetoric applied to principlism and the language of bioethical discourses, I discuss how our ways with words help reveal hidden scientistic assumptions in language.