Is There a Valid “Ethics of Distress?”

Last updated on: December 23, 2017 at 10:13 am by Roger E. Olson

Is There a Valid “Ethics of Distress?” 2017-12-23T10:13:19-05:00 Roger E. Olson

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Is There a Valid “Ethics of Distress?” Thoughts about Philosopher-Theologian Paul Ricoeur

I am often amazed at how swiftly extremely creative and influential intellectuals and their works are forgotten. Who talks or writes about Paul Ricoeur (d. 2005) anymore? And yet, during the 1970s (and before and after) he was widely considered by Europeans and North Americans especially one of the foremost Christian thinkers. He was one of those rare intellectuals who inhabited a borderland between philosophy and theology and can easily be counted as both a philosopher and a theologian. (Some Ricoeur scholars objected to his being categorized as a theologian at all but had to admit he was a “religious scholar” and not a purely secular one.)

Ricoeur taught at the University of Chicago for many years but was originally from France. He was raised by his grandparents as Protestant but his mature scholarship was not tied to any particular Christian tradition. He died in France at a very old age (he was born in 1913) and the president of France eulogized him and decried his loss to the world as a great one.

Ricoeur was an extremely prolific writer. One of his best known books in the U.S., often required reading in philosophy and religion courses in U.S. universities, was The Symbolism of Evil in which he argued that “symbol gives rise to thought.” Some consider him a forerunner of postmodern philosophy if not a postmodern thinker before “postmodernism” became all the rage.

One question I often wrestle with is why people as important, creative and influential and Ricoeur are forgotten so quickly. Of course, I don’t men he is entirely forgotten, but his name is now (2017) rarely heard in discussions of late modern and postmodern philosophy and religious thought.

His philosophy (and theology) would fall into the broad category of “Continental Philosophy” as opposed to “Analytical Philosophy” and that’s one reason I think he has largely been forgotten in the English-speaking world even though most of his books were translated into English and he taught at an American university. Although not exactly an existentialist himself, his own philosophy and theology was greatly influenced by French and German existentialism.

*Sidebar: The opinions expressed here are my own (or those of the guest writer); I do not speak for any other person, group or organization; nor do I imply that the opinions expressed here reflect those of any other person, group or organization unless I say so specifically. Before commenting read the entire post and the “Note to commenters” at its end.*

Ricoeur wrote much about ethics—from a broadly Christian or at least theistic perspective. One of his key ideas was the “ethics of distress.” This concept is especially expressed in Ricoeur’s book History and Truth (Northwestern University Press, 1965). In a (admittedly inadequate) nutshell if means that there are times and circumstances when a person, even a Christian, must do the unethical. The “ethics of distress” covers those decisions and actions in which a person must admit to himself/herself that this decision and action is not ethical or Christian in any normal, ordinary sense. In other words, in such a situation, the person finds himself or herself “called” to act without ethical justification. “It” simply must be done, but “it” cannot be called right. I have called such a decision and action “neither right nor wrong but necessary.”

From what I understand of Ricoeur’s thought, the only thing totally unique here, in this area, is the term “ethics of distress.” I have described this kind of ethical thinking in public and in print, including here, and often been accused by what I would call “ethical perfectionists” of justifying sin. Not at all. And I have re-discovered Ricoeur as a person who would agree with me. Within and under the umbrella category of “ethics of distress” one cannot call the decision and resulting action “not sin;” it is sin. (And Ricoeur’s Christian roots appear in his belief that “sin” is an irreducible category; it cannot be reduced to ignorance, for example.) But it is sin in a strange sense—especially to those who think in black-and-white terms about sin and evil. It is also sin in a strange sense to those who would call themselves “situational ethicists” (such as Joseph Fletcher and his followers).

For Ricoeur, as I understand him, sometimes, in rare occasions, even the most devout and committed religious person with the highest ethical standards must sin. Or he/she feels compelled to sin.

Immediately some people with think of Luther’s “sin boldly,” but this is different from what Luther meant. My own reading of Luther leads me to believe that, by “sin boldly,” he only meant that sin is unavoidable because, due to total depravity, every “good deed” is infected by some taint of selfishness and pride. So one should not worry overly much about that; a person who repents is “covered” by God’s grace. But I do not think Luther thought presumptuous sinning—acting knowingly against God’s will—should ever be committed “boldly.”

But neither did Ricoeur (as I understand him). I don’t think he would advise anyone to “sin boldly.” But, apparently, he did believe there are extreme situations where a person must sin and trust God to understand and forgive.

But deeper than this, and I tend to agree, Ricoeur thought that evil, however exactly understood (and he did not think it could be fully understood by thought), is part of the “warp and woof” of the human condition and that profound spirituality (also not fully understandable) cannot escape it. (Ricoeur did not believe in a literal, historical “fall” into sin at some primitive, historical moment.) The “fall” described narratively in Genesis 3 was for him a symbol, but not a myth in the common sense of myth. It is true, but not literally true. And to attempt to make it literally true distracts from its symbolic power. And yet, as a powerful symbol, it necessarily provokes thought which leads to attempted explanations. Yet the explanations never rise to the level of the symbol itself in terms of power to express.

What does the “ethics of distress” mean practically, then? I take it to mean (for myself) that there are moments when one observes or learns about a decision-action by someone else (or possibly by oneself) in which the only proper response is “I neither applaud nor condemn; I understand (or try to understand).” The person who believes in God who finds it necessary to act within the ethics of distress can only regret and repent and trust in the forgiveness of God and/or other persons.

If you need a case study, and case studies always provoke controversy so I hesitate to give one, I would consider the true story behind the movie “Machine Gun Preacher” a case of the “ethics of distress.” (I do not know what Ricoeur would say.) What the preacher did in Africa was sin, at least according to a strong Christian ethic of non-violence and peacemaking. And yet, I know that, with sufficient courage and capability, I would have done the same under the same circumstances. It had to be done.

The early Christian preacher John Chrysostom required Christian Roman soldiers who killed in battle to go through a period of repentance and restoration before being re-admitted to communion. This speaks to me of a precedent in ancient Christian thought for the “ethics of distress.” But my purpose here is not to open a discussion about “just war theory,” do not go there…. My only purpose is to raise the question of the category “ethics of distress” as I describe it here which, I hope, is faithful to the basic impulses of the unfortunately largely forgotten great Christian philosopher-theologian Paul Ricoeur. And to recover his memory and recommend is body of work to those who are not familiar with him. I guarantee to you that if you could go back in time to the 1970s and take a university course in contemporary religious thought you would at least hear about him and probably read one of his books or at least a chapter about him. Now, unfortunately, he being forgotten and I consider that a sad state of affairs (viz., that great thinkers come and go so quickly in terms of memory and influence).

*Note to commenters: This blog is not a discussion board; please respond with a question or comment only to me. If you do not share my evangelical Christian perspective (very broadly defined), feel free to ask a question for clarification, but know that this is not a space for debating incommensurate perspectives/worldviews. In any case, know that there is no guarantee that your question or comment will be posted by the moderator or answered by the writer. If you hope for your question or comment to appear here and be answered or responded to, make sure it is civil, respectful, and “on topic.” Do not comment if you have not read the entire post and do not misrepresent what it says. Keep any comment (including questions) to minimal length; do not post essays, sermons or testimonies here. Do not post links to internet sites here. This is a space for expressions of the blogger’s (or guest writers’) opinions and constructive dialogue among evangelical Christians (very broadly defined).

Uncategorized

Previous Post

December 19, 2017

Against Creedalism: Why I am a "Confessing Christian" but not a Creedal Christian

Next Post

December 28, 2017 America has Become a Mission Field

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Against Liberal Theology Uncategorized

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What was the name of the garden where Jesus prayed before His arrest?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Eden Gethsemane Bethany Golgotha