Debate, Prophecy, and Revolution: Notes on Cathleen Kaveny's Prophecy Without Contempt. Issue 1 (8th February 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Hart, William David
• Is Part Of: Journal of religious ethics. Volume 46:Issue 1(2018)
• Page Start: 173
• Page End: 180
• Publication Date: 2018-02-08
• Subjects: Cathleen Kaveny -- prophetic denunciation -- jeremiad -- Puritan -- moral deliberation -- Stephen Carter -- John Rawls -- Alasdair MacIntyre -- revolutionary moral discourse; Ethics -- Periodicals; Religious ethics -- Periodicals; Morale religieuse; Religion; Théologie; 205
• DOI: 10.1111/jore.12212
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0384-9694

Abstract

Abstract: In Prophecy without Contempt, Cathleen Kaveny argues that prevailing scholarly approaches to religious and public discourse misunderstand the actual complexity of moral rhetoric in America. She endeavors to provide a better account through study of the role the Puritan jeremiad has played. Kaveny then offers a normative case for deliberative public moral discourse and the limited exercise of prophetic denunciation. I argue that Kaveny's distinction between deliberation and prophetic denunciation is overdrawn. They are ideal types that elide other rhetorical forms. Moreover, both deliberative discourse and prophetic denunciation assume a social contract or shared tradition. Healthy moral discourse requires revolutionary rhetoric to interrogate and break traditions that are themselves morally compromised.