Ep. #138 – Pro-life Philosophy & Arguments w/ Trent Horn
Summary
Why do pro-life advocates need philosophy? What is a simple, basic argument pro-lifers can use to make the case against abortion? What are some of the worst arguments on both sides of the debate? How have pro-choice philosophers responded to pro-life arguments? What are the best responses to the best pro-choice case? Trent Horn joins us to discuss these topics in detail.
Guest Bio
After his conversion to the Catholic faith, Trent Horn earned master’s degrees in the fields of theology, philosophy, and bioethics. He serves as a staff apologist for Catholic Answers, where he specializes in teaching Catholics to graciously and persuasively engage those who disagree with them.
Trent models that approach each week on the radio program Catholic Answers Live and on his own podcast, The Counsel of Trent. He has also been invited to debate at UC Berkeley, UC Santa Barbara, and Stanford University.Trent is an adjunct professor of apologetics at Holy Apostles College, has written for The National Catholic Bioethics Quarterly, and is the author of nine books, including Answering Atheism, The Case for Catholicism, and Why We’re Catholic: Our Reasons for Faith, Hope, and Love.
Topics
- Why do pro-life advocates need philosophy?
- What are the worst arguments on both sides?
- What is the rational nature argument?
- How do pro-choice advocates respond to the rational nature argument?
- What is the dispositional desire argument and how can pro-life folks respond?
- What is the “future like ours” argument and should pro-life people use this argument?
- Does the violinist argument show the validity of the pro-choice position?
- What is the best response to such bodily autonomy arguments from a pro-life point of view?
Resources
Persuasive Pro-life by Trent Horn
The Ethics of Abortion by Christopher Kaczor
Pat Flynn & Dr. Gaven Kerr discuss Pro-life Ethics & Philosophy (Podcast)
Defending Life by Francis Beckwith
Body-self Dualism in Contemporary Ethics and Politics by Patrick Lee and Robert P. George
Embryo: A Defense of Human Life by Robert P. George and Christopher Tollefsen
What It Means to be Human: The Case for the Body in Public Bioethics by Carter Sneed
NCCaudio.com – Nick Chamberlain does an incredible job on audio editing and also hosts a podcast to help other podcasters
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