On Lawyers and Moral Discernment
Author(s)' contact information
Publication
Journal of Catholic Legal Studies
Volume number
46
Year
2007
First page number
259
Last page number
275
Country
United States
Abstract
Drawing on Jacques Maritain's doctrine of Knowledge through Connaturality, and on other authors including David Hume and Edmond Cahn, this article argues that judgments of right and wrong are arrived at primarily through immediate discernment, and only secondarily through the application of general principles. It is possible, therefore, for lawyers and clients to arrive at agreement on how to handle their cases, even though they do not agree on the general principles that apply.