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RESEARCH PRODUCT

A Civilization of Death: Argumentative and Rhetorical Strategies in the Catholic Church's Position on Biotechnology

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description

Although political deliberation rarely proceeds fairly and effectively (Habermas 1984, 1989), the author of this paper assumes the fundamentally deliberative nature of the democratic public sphere, in which different religious institutions may take a stance and argue either for or against certain legal solutions. The study examines argumentation behind the Catholic Church’s negative stance on biotechnologies such as, for example, in vitro fertilization (IVF). Drawing on the theoretical and descriptive work on normative assumptions, knowledge bases and argumentative patterns involved in practical reasoning (Perelman, Olbrechts- Tyteca 1969; Walton 1990; Fairclough, Fairclough 2010, 2012), as well as on studies of strategic rhetorical overlay of political discourse (Cockcroft, Cockcroft 2005; van Eemeren, Houtlosser 2000), this study attempts to demonstrate how particular religious arguments are presented in the ongoing IVF debate in Poland. A selection of the Catholic Church’s encyclicals and instructions are explored to accurately and thoroughly demonstrate the premises underlying the claim that biotechnologies are unethical and foster the so-called “civilization of death.” In addition, some salient rhetorical strategies of the Church’s foundational texts are exemplified here (regarding reference, predication and topoi), and their implications for public debate are described and discussed.