Abstract

Paul Ramsey’s ethics certainly is Christian. But it is also more pointedly a Christian deontological ethics. For example, Ramsey claims, “[c]ertainly Christian ethics is a deontological ethic, not an ‘ethic of the good.’” In the context of his early writings, however, Ramsey’s characterization of the deontological bent of Christian ethics is frustratingly murky. Specifically, the analytic distinctions he makes are not sufficiently stark. In order to understand why Ramsey holds that Christian ethics ought to be construed as deontological, I will proceed as follows. I will first reconstruct Ramsey’s arguments from Basic Christian Ethics to appreciate his foundational claims about the Christian moral life. I will then turn to his later writings, focusing especially on those about medical ethics, that lend clarity to his earlier work. These later arguments, I will argue, help us better appreciate Ramsey’s earlier claims in favor of Christian deontology.