title: Beyond the Pale: Reading Ethics from the Margins
author: Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas
description: "These volumes contain new interpretations of a number of classical thinkers and will interest scholars who do research in the areas of theology, philosophy, and ethics. They would also be well suited for use as textbooks for advanced undergraduate students or graduate students." <i>Choice</i>, Vol. 49/11 (August 2012), by M. M. Veeneman, North Park University<br /><br />"This splendidly conceived reader superbly analyzes and assesses how ethics today should deal with its inheritance in the light of liberationist and postcolonial developments. It is a valuable contribution on a crucially important topic." Gary Dorrien, Reinhold Niebuhr Professor of Social Ethics, Union Theological Seminary, Columbia University, and author of <i>Social Ethics in the Making: Interpreting an American Tradition</i><br /><br />"A rare and important achievement. This work demonstrates both the hard work and hard play of philosophical argument. Not only will it invite a new generation of thinkers to discover the power of western philosophy but it could open new and liberating dialogues with and among communities that have been marginalized and oppressed." Robert Michael Franklin, President, Morehouse College, and author of <i>Crisis in the Village: Restoring Hope in African American Communities</i><br /><br />"<i>Beyond the Pale</i> gives us a new angle of vision on familiar texts in theology, philosophy, and social thought. By helping us to see that ideas have consequences as well as content, Stacey M. Floyd-Thomas and Miguel A. De La Torre and their colleagues widen the discussion of Christian ethics and bring new voices into the conversation. Students and scholars alike will find these essays essential reading." Robin W. Lovin, Professor of Ethics, Southern Methodist University, and author of <i>Christian Ethics: An Essential Guide</i><br /><br />"This provocative book is a critical inquiry into the values and presuppositions of twenty-four major philosophers and theologians concerning racism, sexism, colonialism and other forms of oppression. Clearly, there is much in this book that can and should be challenged by ethicists, philosophers, and theologians. Hopefully, it will generate a lively debate." Peter J. Paris, Professor Emeritus, Princeton Theological Seminary, and author of <i>The Spirituality of African Peoples: The Search for a Common Moral Discourse</i><br /><br />"<i>Beyond the Pale</i> strengthens our self-critical understanding of the heritage that has shaped us. You will find something to defend or to criticize, but you will have your eyes opened in new ways to see changes we all need for our historical time of tectonic shift." Glen H. Stassen, Smedes Professor of Christian Ethics, Fuller Theological Seminary, and author of <i>Living the Sermon on the Mount: A Practical Hope for Grace and Deliverance</i><br /><br />"<i>Beyond the Pale</i> is a provocative book that raises thoughtful and challenging questions. It offers salient starting points for the critical reexamination of many of the foundational ideas (and the men who wrote them) that continue to shape the (post)modern world." Rebecca Todd Peters, Associate Professor of Religious Studies, Elon University, and author of <i>In Search of the Good Life: the Ethics of Globalization</i>
zlib_text: 
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  ![Cover Image](../cover.jpeg)
  
  
  
  
  
  ![image](images/9781620552056_002.jpg)
  
  
  
  
  
  ![image](images/9781620552056_001.jpg)
  
  _To my sister-in-law, Bonnie Balas (1945–2012), who made this
  
  
  book possible, and my wife, Judy, who makes everything possible_
  
  
  
  
  
  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
  
  For their help in supplying me with valuable information and/or invaluable
  moral support, I would particularly like to thank the following: Arthur Davis,
  Roger Doyle, Martin Ebon, Terry Helbick, Brian Johnston, Cat Karell, Guyon
  Neutze, Henry Roper, Robert Ryan, Steven Sittenreich, and, of course, J.C.
  
  
  
  
  
  ## CONTENTS
  
    1. [Cover Image](9781620552056_cvi.xhtml)
    2. [Title Page](9781620552056_tp.xhtml#tp)
    3. [Dedication](9781620552056_ded.xhtml)
    4. [Acknowledgments](9781620552056_ack.xhtml)
    5. [CHAPTER ONE: “A History of the Corruption of the Soul of Man”](9781620552056_c01.xhtml)
    6. [CHAPTER TWO: The Newton Code](9781620552056_c02.xhtml)
    7. [CHAPTER THREE: Newton’s God](9781620552056_c03.xh