In this engaging study, the authors put casuistry into its historical context, tracing the origin of moral reasoning in antiquity, its peak during the sixteenth and early seventeenth century, and its subsequent fall into disrepute from the mid-seventeenth century.

Preface Prologue: The Problem PART I. BACKGROUND 1. Theory and Practice 2. The Roots of Casuistry in Antiquity 3. Cicero: Philosopher, Orator, Legislator PART II. THE PRECURSORS 4. Christian Origins 5. The Canonists and Confessors 6. The Theologians PART III. HIGH CASUISTRY 7. Sumrnists and Jesuits 8. Texts, Authors, and Methods PART IV. THREE SAMPLES OF CASUISTRY 9. Profit: The Case of Usury 10. Perjury: The Case of Equivocation 11. Pride: The Case of the Insulted Gentleman PART V. THE CRISIS 12. Casuistry Confounded: Pascal's Critique 13. The Achievement of Casuistry PART VI. THE FUTURE OF CASUISTRY 14. After The Provincial Letters 15. Philosophy and the Springs of Morality 16. The Revival of Casuistry 17. Epilogue: Conscience and the Claims of Equity Appendix Notes Name Index Subject Index