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Bonhoeffer’s Turn to Conspiracy: The ‘Extraordinary Situation’

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Abstract

This chapter begins to explore the ethical framework that informed Bonhoeffer’s decision to become a conspirator. Through a close examination of a central passage in Ethics, written during his time as a double agent in the Abwehr, this chapter shows the emergence of a new idea, the ‘extraordinary situation’ that is based on Machiavelli’s necessitá. It is an example of a ‘borderline case’, understood as requiring ethical decisions apart from appealing to intrinsic laws that enable discernment of right action. There emerges a tension between the agent who breaks the law in order to affirm the law but has no basis for doing so that is understandable within the context of the law.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Arts-Education, Deakin University, Geelong, VIC, Australia

    Petra Brown

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  1. Petra Brown
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Brown, P. (2019). Bonhoeffer’s Turn to Conspiracy: The ‘Extraordinary Situation’. In: Bonhoeffer. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-05698-8_4

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