ABSTRACT
MARK J. CHERRY, PhD Department of Philosophy, Saint Edwards University, Austin, Texas
With rare exception, Roman Catholic moral theologians condemn the sale of human organs for transplantation. Unlike the market, most systems of voluntary organ donation are based on the implicit assumption that the procurement of organs for transplantation is only appropriately characterized as a gi¬. Gi¬ giving is generally marked by altruism, personal concern for the other, love, and, in some cases, intimacy. e encouragement of gi¬ giving, in short, is core to the development of important areas of character and virtue involved in personal regard and love for others. Gi¬ giving at the very least requires personal concern for identi‹able others or identi‹cation with the community to which the gi¬ is addressed. Gi¬ giving is tied closely with concerns of compassion and charity, including the root notion of caritas, or love. Such compassion, it is argued, rearms that “not all of life depends on ecient, large scale organizations and a productive economy. [It helps to] create a space in which to think about our dependence on one another, the needs that can never be ful‹lled by bureaucracies and material
Introduction 203 e Tradition 205 Totality and Charity 208 Markets and Charity 215 Conclusion 217 Discussion Questions 218 Endnotes 219 References 222
goods, and the joys that come from attending to those needs” (Wuthnow 1991, 304). Policies that encourage gi¬ giving, altruism, or charity express in part the concern that individuals develop a sense of love and concern for others. Arguments for the gi¬ of human life, it is contended, lose their force when it is a question of sales (see, for example, Ashley and O’Rourke 1994, 175).1
