PHI 325 Questions

Evaluating Inductive Arguments

1. Do the premises provide strong support for the conclusion 2. Is the premises true/clear -Inductively Strong/Weak -Inductive Generalizations Sample Size Representation (most important) The larger the sample size/rep. the stronger the argument -Arguments by Analogy Are the things being compared similar enough? Are there any big enough differences to make the analogy irrelevant?

basics of cultural relativism

1. Moral claims are either true or false 2. Moral claims are only true if they represent their cultures moral norms 3. Dependent on the culture and its beliefs (not universal like Utiliarinsim)

Objections of VFT

1. The fetus has no desire to live (and, it might be pointed out, no desires for EAPEs). Mar says: But it's still wrong to kill those without a desire to live; they may desire to live in the future 2. What makes it wrong to kill X is that killing discontinues X's immediate past experience Mar says: Whether one has immediate past experience is irrelevant 3. A valuable future requires a valuer—that entity who has a valuable future must be capable of valuing it now M says: A fetus' future can be valuable to it later even if not at the moment.

Argument words

-Compasion base; listed on premise but not conclusion -Target item; item the inference is about -Independent; premise alone support conc. -Conjoint: both premises needed to make conc.

Tooley on Abortion and Infanticide

-Given that they lack a self-concept, fetuses and infants do not have a 'serious right to life.' -Supposing we favor abortion rights but not infanticide, we must specify a morally relevant feature to distinguish the rightness of abortion from the wrongness of infanticide. If there is no morally relevant difference, then we should permit infanticide too -Some things have rights without having a right to life -Injecting kitten with x example.

Warren-On the Moral and Legal Satus of Abortion

-Main claim: abortion is permissible in all cases -fetuses are not human beings -bad consequences of the law argument -Women wants/life triumphs over fetus -the violinist lottery exampke

Categorical Imperatives

Commands you must follow regardless of your desires. Moral obligations are derived from pure reason. -universal -not conditional -These are things you ought do or not do, no matter what., ex. Not lying -only do something that would be okay for everyone to do -Ex. not stealing or lying

One rival theory about the wrongness of killing that Marquis explicitly discusses and rejects in defending his Valuable Future Theory, is the Utilitarian-based theory that killing does not maximize happiness. True/False

False, Marquis explicitly deals with only two rival theories of the wrongness of killing: the desire account (what makes killing wrong is that it kills an entity with a desire to live) and the discontinuation account (what makes killing wrong is that it discontinues the killed entity's past experience). (Note: Tooley defends a version of the desire account.)

Both the moral theories of cultural relativism and utilitarianism postulate that the same moral rules hold true for all cultures. True/False

False, CR is relative/subjective, Utl. is universal

Whereas utilitarianism (e.g., Mill's moral theory) contends that both the intentions and the consequences of actions matter in ethical assessment, deontology (e.g., Kant's moral theory) contends that only the the consequences matter in ethical assessment. True/False

False, Kant is concerned with the intentions only

The official position of the American Medical Association regarding physician-assisted suicide is consistent with (that is, compatible with) the state of Oregon's position on this issue as specified in its Death with Dignity Act? True/False

False, Oregon supports physician-assisted suicide, but the AMA does not

Warren argues that since fetuses have the potential to possess some of the five criteria she claims are important for being a person, abortion is not morally permissible. True/False

False, Potential persons are not actual persons for Warren, and the rights of actual persons always trump the rights of potential persons.

According to Tooley's view, in order for an entity to have a right to not be tortured, the entity needs to have a self-concept True/False

False, according to Tooley kittens have a right to not be tortured because they can feel pain but they do not have a right to life to have a right to life it must have a sense of self-concept

Marquis' strategy in arguing that abortion is immoral is to identify the particular feature of fetuses that makes it wrong to kill them, whether or not this particular feature is what makes killing adults and children wrong. True/False

False, because Marquis' strategy is to identify in general what makes killing adults wrong.

Almost all physicians (medical doctors) are required to swear to the classical version of the Hippocratic oath. True/False

False, most swear to the modern version

Valuable future theory

If X is an entity whose future includes EAPEs, then it is the fact that X has a future filled with EAPEs that makes killing X wrong.

Karen Ann Quinlan Case

Karen Ann Quinlan became the first legal case in what would later be known as the "right-to-die movement." When to a party had a few drinks in addition to Valium; was taken home and put to bed. After fifteen minutes she was found not breathing. Persistant vegetative state, taken off life support in 1976 and lived ten more years.

Liberal Arguments for abortion

Liberal view of abortion tend to assume without argument that the fetus is not a person, or that even if it has a right to life those rights are always trumped by the mother's wishes or rights 1. People are entitled to action that do not harm others (MHP) Thus, persons have the right to abort fetuses 2. Making abortion illegal would lead to unsafe abortions 3. If abortion is made illegal it may result in unwanted children

cultural relativism

Moral claims are only true if they represent their cultures moral norms - relative not a universal theory (meaning in one culture something might be acceptable but not in another) -throughout time moral cultural beliefs can change -avoid egocentrism and encourages toleration of other cultures

Suppose that one objects to the Moral Symmetry Principle by saying that positive duties are more important than negative duties. True or false: Tooley responds to this objection by emphasizing that when motives/intentions are the same in two actions, then there is no difference between them even though in one you do something positive while in the other you refrain from doing something. [You can assume the results of the two actions are the same too.]

True, "When motivation and outcome are the same in two cases, there is no morally relevant difference in doing v. allowing, or acting v. refraining to act, or purposefully killing X v. purposefully disallowing X's existence."

Key Abortion Rulings

Roe vs. Wade: granted women the constitutional right to terminate their pregnancies and access to abortion as a "fundamental right," Doe vs. Bolton: expanded women's access to abortion by striking down laws that restricted the reasons for which women could receive abortions Webster v. Reproductive Health Services: The statute also defined life as beginning at conception and directed physicians to perform fetal viability tests on women who were 20 or more weeks pregnant and seeking abortions Justice Blackmun's argued for right of privacy and created 3 tier system Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey: established a less rigorous standard for determining whether state abortion laws are constitutional

Physician-assisted suicide poll results

Should competent, well-informed patients with fatal illnesses be allowed PAS (physician-assisted suicide)? (Assume there are physicians willing to assist.) Yes, such patients should always be allowed PAS​: ​30 (35.3%) Yes, but only in some cases should such patients be allowed PAS​:​40 (47.1%) No, such patients should not be allowed PAS​:​3 (3.5%) Not answered yet​: ​12 (14.1%)

Tooley's Critique of the Potentiality Principle

There is no moral difference between action and inaction, between killing and letting die, between acting and refraining to act.

It is important to be familiar with the time line of fetal development in order to discuss possible points at which the fetus becomes a person (e.g., first movement, nervous system development, viability). True/False

True

According to the selection you read from Kant, what is the only intrinsically good thing in the world?

a good will

Tooley argues for... a. ...distinguishing between "human being" and "person". b. ...distinguishing between "person" and " having a serious right to life". c. ...distinguishing between "human being" and "fetus". d. ...distinguishing between "human being" and "member of the human race".

a. ...distinguishing between "human being" and "person".

Why is it the case that the moral theories of Utilitarianism, and Cultural Relativism, cannot simultaneously be true?

a. Because Utilitarianism is a universal theory, whereas Cultural Relativism is a relativist theory.

Why, or how, does the Valuable Future Theory not rely on the concept of a person? a. Because it holds that some entity could, in principle, have a valuable future even though it is not a person. b. Because it holds that fetuses are, necessarily, not persons. c. Because it holds that not all persons have valuable futures.

a. Because it holds that some entity could, in principle, have a valuable future even though it is not a person.

Comparing the theories of personhood developed by English and Warren, which of the following traits does English posit as relevant to being a person that Warren does not so posit? a. Biological features. b. Rationality or reasoning capacity. c. Consciousness or self-consciousness. d. Perception of objects. e. Both thinkers posit all of these traits as relevant to being a person.

a. Biological features.

Mill's proof of the principle of utility relies on the observation that people desire happiness True/False

True

Suppose someone argues as follows: "If we allow patients to have the right to physician-assisted suicide, then the role of the doctors will keep expanding as they get more and more power, causing the moral center of medicine to collapse, and eventually resulting in unjust patient deaths." One way to challenge this type of argument is to demonstrate that communities can institute specific and rigorous policies, such as those in the state of Oregon, that can help ensure that the granting of the right to physician-assisted suicide does not destroy the moral center of medicine. True/False

True

Supposing that Cultural Relativism is true, if the people of a specific culture, C, believe that euthanasia is morally permissible, then that is a moral truth for people in C regardless of what other cultures believe about the morality of euthanasia True/False

True

The point of Thomson's hypothetical story of a child growing without limit in your house, in which you have no escape so that the child will eventually crush you to death, is to demonstrate that you have a right to defend your life (i.e., kill the child) even if others (third parties) aren't allowed to help you. True or False

True

Which of the following best represents Mill's response to the objection that Utilitarianism is "too degrading" to human beings? a. Mill makes a distinction involving the qualities of different kinds of pleasures. b. Mill says humans are capable of following secondary rules, but pigs are not. c. Mill says that all pleasures count toward the total happiness in the world. d. Mill says that, unlike pigs, humans can formulate universal laws.

a. Mill makes a distinction involving the qualities of different kinds of pleasures.

Some moral theorists object that Mill's Utilitarianism is too impractical, because it takes too much time to calculate all the consequences, and therefore the utility, of a given action. Which statement best describes how Mill responds to this objection?

a. There are moral 'rules of thumb' that humankind has developed over generations that are justified by the Principle of Utility, and if these rules are followed they will tend to maximize happiness

Normative ethics

a.ka. moral theory, aims for a general theory of the right and good

Applied ethics

addresses specific, practical moral issues such as bioethics

What would the principle of utility most likely imply about a specific act of abortion

b. Abortion is sometimes justified, but sometimes not justified.

How does Rachels use the cases of Smith and Jones to argue against the moral distinction between active and passive euthanasia? a. He uses it to show that letting die is morally better than killing. b. He uses it to show that killing and letting die are morally equivalent. c. He uses it to show that killing is morally better than letting die.

b. He uses it to show that killing and letting die are morally equivalent

Thomson distinguishes between what any person, Y, ought to do for any person, X, and what X has a right to have from Y. What is the essence of the distinction? a. What X's rights are consists of all those actions Y ought to do for X. b. If Y ought to do action A for X, this does NOT necessarily mean that X has a right to A from Y. c. If X has a right to an action A from Y, then Y ought to do A for X.

b. If Y ought to do action A for X, this does NOT necessarily mean that X has a right to A from Y.

Consider this argument: "If Darwin is right that evolution by natural selection occurs, then all species are the product of natural forces. All species are the product of natural forces. Therefore, Darwin is right that evolution by natural selection occurs." Which statement best describes the above argument? Select one: a. It is a valid argument. b. It is not a valid argument. c. It is neither a valid nor an invalid argument. d. It is an inductive argument.

b. It is not a valid argument., invalid is y is yes, x is yes

Which of the following actions would a utilitarian recommend as morally right? (Choose the answer that best represents utilitarian thinking.) NET HAPPINESS a. Action 3, which creates 100 units of pleasure and 50 units of pain b. Action 1, which creates 200 units of pleasure and 100 units of pain c. Action 5, which creates 500 units of pleasure and 499 units of pain d. Action 2, which creates 300 units of pleasure and 150 units of pain e. Action 4, which creates 500 units of pleasure and 500 units of pain

d. Action 2, which creates 300 units of pleasure and 150 units of pain (150 units of pleasure)

Which of the following are reasons why someone who accepts Kant's moral theory would disagree with Utilitarianism? a. Utilitarianism allows pleasure obtained from morally questionable actions to count towards the good. b. Because Utilitarianism is an agent-neutral theory, it does not consider the intentions of the person doing an action to be relevant to whether the action is right or wrong. c. Since one cannot control all of the consequences of an action, Utilitarianism unfairly makes people responsible for things that are sometimes ultimately out of their control. d. All of a., b., and c. are reasons for a Kantian to disagree with a Utilitarian. e. None of a., b., and c. are reasons for a Kantian to disagree with a Utilitarian

d. All of a., b., and c. are reasons for a Kantian to disagree with a Utilitarian

Suppose you form a maxim and imagine everyone acting on it. According to the Universal Law formulation of the Categorical Imperative, which outcome of universalizing the maxim requires one to reject the maxim? a. A contradiction in will. b. A contradiction with the Principle of Utility. c. A contradiction in conception. d. Either a. or c. are sufficient to reject the maxim. e. None of the above.

d. Either a. or c. are sufficient to reject the maxim.

The Valuable Future Theory, as discussed by Don Marquis, requires that which of the following claims is true? a. It is morally permissible to give expectant mothers a right to abort their fetuses in some cases, because the futures of expectant mothers are always more valuable than that of their fetuses. b. It is morally wrong to abort human fetuses, but it is morally permissible to use as many human embryos in medical research (thereby destroying them) as we need to use in order to maximize the value in the futures of the majority of human beings. c. It is morally wrong to abort human embryos only if the culture in which the action takes place believes that it is morally wrong to abort human embryos. d. None of these choices accurately identify requirements of VFT.

d. None of these choices accurately identify requirements of VFT.

Kant argues that a person, "who is in prosperity, while he sees that others ...., he would deprive himself of all hope of the aid he desires." Which of the following statements most accurately summarizes Kant's argument above?

d. That charity is justified by the Categorical Imperative.

In the following analysis, Marquis is contrasting two accounts of the wrongness of killing. Which two are these? "The symmetry fades,.....the patient intelligible." a. The desire account and the deontological account. b. The desire account and the future-like-ours account. c. The Hippocratic account and the future-like-ours account. d. The discontinuation account and the future-like-ours account

d. The discontinuation account and the future-like-ours account

Terri Schiavo Case

o 1990: Terri is in a coma; she is in a vegetative state o 1998: Michael asks the courts to remove her feeding tube o 2001: Feeding tube is removed; reinserted several days later by her parents o 2005: Feeding tube is disconnected; Terri dies help upkeep Death With Dignity Act

Bioethics

the study of moral issues arising in the context of bio-medical situations— abortion, cloning, euthanasia, genetic therapy, etc.—in part by applying moral theories and getting the relevant facts straight

Metaphysics

the theory of reality, what is ultimately real, Questions about the nature of properties, space-time, identity, personhood, the nature of the mind versus the body, free will versus determinism

Ethics

the value theory, what should we do, what makes an action good or bad

Epistemology

theory of knowledge, what can we know, Questions about the limits of human knowledge, the conditions for knowing something, the nature of justification and explanation, the contents of perception, our relationship with reality (perception)

Rachel's view on euthanasia

there is no moral distinction b/w AE and PE, letting die is the same as killing (the Smith and Jones bathtub example) for voluntary and nonvoluntary cases, says it's unsound for AMA to allow PE but not AE

Clarity

words in premise can be unclear, if so the argument is unsound ex. 1. It's wrong to kill a human being. 2. A fetus is a human being. 3. Thus, it's wrong to kill a fetus. The clarity/meaning of the word human being in unknown

Inductive argument

-Premise provides strong support but does not prove conclusion -Inductive generalization; from sample to general conclusion about population ex. 1. Swan #1 was white. 2. Swan #2 was white. 3. [And so on for all ten thousand swans I have seen.] 4. Therefore, (probably) all swans are white. -Argument by analogy; two or more things are compared in order to draw a conclusion about one of them. ex. 1. The courses in Ph. of S/E, and Ph. of R are all philosophy courses that have been or will be taught by Professor Smith. 2. The courses in Ph. of S/E, were entertaining. 3. Therefore, (probably) the Ph. of R course will also be entertaining.

Timmons and Shoemaker-Introduction

-Premises + Conclusion= argument -Premise supports conclusion; because, since, for, for the reason that -Conclusion: main point; therefore, thus, so on, hence, for that reason, necessarily

Deductive argument

-Proves a conclusion with a guarantee, beyond a doubt -

benefits from CR

-The diversity of cultural beliefs challenges our own moral beliefs, causing us to strengthen our reasons/justifications for such beliefs -Reveals commonality between cultures and their beliefs -Allows you to be more sensitive/understanding of others beliefs in biomedical situations/decisions (Principle of Sensitivity) -while CR makes it impossible to solve moral issues they may be impossible to solve anyway

Mill's Harm Principle

-The government or society may restrict the liberty of individuals only to prevent harm to others -based on utilitarianism -you can do whatever you want as long as you do not harm anyone -non-paternalistic approach

Thomas-A Defense on Abortion

-Thomson assumes the fetus is a person from conception, rights-based pro-life argument -Famous Violinist example -General lesson of the Famous Violinist case: Justice trumps the rights of the fetus.-The fetus is a person but that does not mean their rights triumphs the mothers b.c. the killing is not unjust -The rights of the fetus should not depend on how it was conceived -growing house example (T says now matter how innocent the child is you do not have to let it crush you) -T says a third party does not have to help, and shouldn't be required, but may help -difference between ought/right -T says we are only required to be minimally decent samaritan -T does say that not all abortions are permissible such as for vacation plans

Discussion on abortion allows us to think about...

-When life begins and what exactly do we mean by life

Singer-The Moral Status of Embryos

-argues that the moral status of the embryo is not the same as that of an adult person. -Says killing an embryo is no different than using contraceptive of abstaining from intercourse -Specicism; an embryo being a homo sapien is not enough to justify it's right to life -The embryo should be used for research but only until it cannot feel pain (14 days after fertilizations a.k.a primitive streak)

a Philosophical argument

-contains premise(s) and conclusion -deductive or inductive

Kant's Ethical Theory (deontology)

-good will is the only intrinsically good thing ( in contrast with Hedonism) -Treat people as an end not a means

Restrictions to MHP

-it's ok to reason with someone harming themselves -Does not pertain to children, or underdeveloped political countries who need guidance/control

Validity

-only applies to deductive arguments -If the premises are true, then the conclusion must also be true -Think is there anyway this conclusion could not be true...

Counterexample

-premises are true, conclusion is false ex. For example, someone who claims that all animals are mammals can be proven wrong when we give an example of an animal that's a reptile rather than a mammal, such as a lizard. -there could be another explanation for the conclusion

Stem Cells

-taken from embryos to be used in research -14 day rule-cannot grow embryo in lab past 14 days

arguments against CR

-there are no objective truths, just subjective ones -Persistent disagreement about ethical issues among good people(=no objective moral truth) -Contradictions arise in moral beliefs of a single culture X over time -Rules out universal moral truths such as the Tolerance principle (univereal) which is inconsistent with CR

Arguments for Mill's Harm Principal

-we known our own selves best and have max happiness when we can make choices ourselves -We are not very good at determining what's best for others -the government get's too involved

Suppose every competent, conscious patient with a fatal disease has the moral right to end their life-sustaining treatment (that is, they have the right to refuse further medicines or technologies that keep them alive). Suppose further that there is no moral distinction between killing and letting die (that is, suppose that Rachels is right). Given these suppositions, which of the following statements is most accurate? (Ignore the role of the physician in this question: just focus on the rights of the patient.) a. Every competent, conscious patient, besides the moral right to end life-sustaining treatment, also has a moral right to a substituted judgment. b. Every competent, conscious patient, besides the moral right to end life-sustaining treatment, also has a moral right to active euthanasia. c. Although every patient has a moral right to passive euthanasia, given the suppositions, they don't have the moral right to active euthanasia.

. Every competent, conscious patient, besides the moral right to end life-sustaining treatment, also has a moral right to active euthanasia. There is no differnce between PAE and VAE

Arguments for Rachel's view

1. AE is in many cases more humane than PE. 2. AE would result in less suffering than PE in some cases, so AE is morally permissible (supported by Utl.) 3. It can lead to decisions based on morally irrelevant grounds (baby with down syndrome example) 4. Morally, killing is no worse than letting die when all other factors are equal

Argument mistakes

A. Counterexamples; other explanations for conclusion, telling why con. is wrong B. It begs the question; provide no support for conclusion C. It Leads to a Contradiction or Absurdity D. It Equivocates; key word changes meaning in course E. Its Generalizations Are Too Hasty; conclusion drawn from small sample size or unrepresentative F. It Involves a False Analogy: large differences between items being compared

Marquis: Why Abortion is Immoral

Aim: to develop a general argument for the claim that the overwhelming majority of deliberate abortions are seriously immoral Summary: "Since a fetus possesses a property (a valuable future), the possession of which in adult human beings it sufficient to make killing an adult human being wrong, abortion is wrong"

Match the facts of the case with the person

Became an attorney → Dax Cowart Severely burned → Dax Cowart Request removal of feeding tube → Elizabeth Bouvia Great pain from cerebral palsy → Elizabeth Bouvia Dunked in chlorinated baths → Dax Cowart

Conservative anti-Abortion arguments

Common arguments for the conservative view of abortion tend to assume without argument that the fetus is a person, or that its rights always trump the mother's well-being or rights. 1. A fetus is a person and a person has a right to life and it wrong to kill something with a right to life 2. The fetus is a potential person and has the same rights as an actual person therefore the right to not be killed 3. Fetuses are genetically/biologically human therefore a persons and have the right to live 4. LIfe begins at conceptions therefore it wrong to kill a zygote

AMA views on PAS/Euthanasia

Do not support it and says it could be abused and is not compatible with the physicians role as a healer, okay with PE but AE

Present either an argument that physician-assisted suicide is morally wrong, or that it is morally right

My response; I believe physician-assisted suicide (PAS) is morally right. One argument stated by Rachel is that there is no moral distinction between letting someone die and killing them. Physicians are allowed to remove someone off life support such as a ventilator or remove a feeding tube. If they are allowed to let someone die they should be allowed to help a patient in their request to end their life. Another argument also supported by Rachel is that PAS can be more humane than letting a patient die. When using PAS the patient can choose to end their life when and where they want. This results in a more dignified and peaceful death. One example is Brittany Maynard by using PAS she lived out a "good death" as she wanted. Instead of being hooked up to machines in the hospital where she would die a painful death, she traveled which she loved and got to die peacefully surrounded by her family in her home.

Argument Structure

P1 If [antecedent(x)] then [consequent (y)] P2 The [x] is C1 Therefore, ....y Valid If x is yes, then is yes If Y is no, then x is no Invalid If X is no, Y is no If Y is yes, X is yes

Recall the Roe v. Wade case. Match the term to the correct phrase.

The term "third trimester" is not a good term for when the fetus can live outside the mother's womb, because that point moves as medicine advances (it might be capable of living outside the womb in the late second trimester). "Viability" is more precise and not tied to trimesters. 2. The 14th Amendment was the primary basis for the ruling in Roe v. Wade. 1st trimester → Woman has full abortion rights Viability → Means that the fetus can live outside the mother's womb 14th Amendment → Primary justification for SCOTUS ruling 2nd trimester → Government can regulate to protect the mother's health 3rd trimester → Government is required only to make exceptions for the life or health of the mother

Which statement most accurately describes Mill's "secondary principles"? a. Not following accepted secondary principles leads to a contradiction in conception. b. Secondary principles demonstrate why we don't have to always calculate the total consequences of our actions. c. Secondary principles have priority over the Principle of Utility. d. Secondary principles are justified by the Categorical Imperative (Humanity formulation). e. Secondary principles are relative to different cultures.

b. Secondary principles demonstrate why we don't have to always calculate the total consequences of our actions.

If Mill's Harm Principle is true, then what does it necessarily imply about the morality of abortion? a. Abortion is never permissible, because abortion is always an other-regarding act. b. Whether abortion is permissible or impermissible depends on whether it causes harm. c. Abortion is always permissible, because abortion is always a self-regarding act.

b. Whether abortion is permissible or impermissible depends on whether it causes harm.

Suppose that a murderer, M, comes to the door of Jack's house. M asks Jack if Sasha (who fears M wants to kill her) is hiding in Jack's house. Suppose Sasha is, in fact, hiding in Jack's house.According to Kant's Categorical Imperative (Universal Law formulation), Jack should

b. tell the truth about Sasha's whereabouts.

Which statement correctly identifies an implication of Cultural Relativism? (Suppose that Cultural Relativism is the true moral theory.) a. There are no moral truths whatsoever. b. For any two cultures, the sincere moral opinions of one will be true, while the other's moral opinions are false. c. A single culture's moral beliefs about some action, A, can vary over time—holding that A is permissible at one time and that A is impermissible at a later time—and yet their beliefs about A are always true

c. A single culture's moral beliefs about some action, A, can vary over time—holding that A is permissible at one time and that A is impermissible at a later time—and yet their beliefs about A are always true

Which of the following is a moral duty, according to Kant's moral theory? a. Do not lie unless it would save an innocent life. b. Improve yourself by violating the autonomy of other persons. c. Help others sometimes. d. Do not commit suicide unless it would maximize happiness for everyone.

c. Help others sometimes. you can never ever lie

Tooley suggests that infanticide is important to discuss when thinking about the morality of abortion. Why? a. It forces one to consult one's emotional reactions about infanticide and thus to better reason from taboo. b. It forces one to take Kant's point of view that some actions are impermissible no matter what. c. It forces one to specify, even more so than when considering abortion, the exact nature of persons. d. None of the choices are accurate.

c. It forces one to specify, even more so than when considering abortion, the exact nature of persons.

One of the physicians interviewed in the last two chapters of the documentary, "Living Old," argues that the longer we can keep people alive (particularly older people) due to technological advancements, the greater the chances of creating a 'medical catastrophe'. Given that such a catastrophe for the patient is harmful in some way, would Utilitarianism necessarily imply we should we avoid keeping people alive longer in such cases? a. Yes, because the consequences for the patient are all that matter. b. Yes, because to be happy requires excellent health according to Utilitarianism. c. No, it depends on the total consequences for everyone concerned

c. No, it depends on the total consequences for everyone concerned

According to the Moral Symmetry Principle (as advanced by Tooley) which of the following is most accurate? (Let A be an action that can start C, where C is a causal process that will lead to an entity, E, with a serious right to life; B is an action that can stop C, once C has started, thus preventing E from coming into existence.)

c. Not doing A, and doing B, are morally equivalent provided that the intentions are the same for both actions

Why does Kant disagree that consequences determine the rightness of actions? a. Kant had a vendetta against consequentialists. b. Consequences are almost always painful. c. Sometimes the way that supposedly good consequences are obtained is actually immoral. d. Consequences are always pleasurable.

c. Sometimes the way that supposedly good consequences are obtained is actually immoral.

Warren argues that since the fetus meets none of the criteria for being a person, abortion is therefore always morally permissible. What is Warren assuming in making this argument? a. That there is a single criterion for determining whether the fetus is a person. b. That human embryos have the moral rights of persons. c. That the fetus' personhood status is in fact relevant to the question of the morality of abortion. d. That one day before birth a fetus becomes a person.

c. That the fetus' personhood status is in fact relevant to the question of the morality of abortion.

Which of these concepts is most plausibly both vague and complex?

c. The concept of a chair.

The modern Hippocratic Oath requires that physicians a. maximize the happiness of each patient and their families b. treat diseases and symptoms, not human beings c. display professional humility d. report all ethical violations to the professional medical organization of the country they reside in e. perform assisted suicide for terminal patients

c. display professional humility, The modern Hippocratic Oath, written by Dr. Louis Lasagna, requires physicians to swear that "I will not be ashamed to say "I know not," nor will I fail to call in my colleagues when the skills of another are needed for a patient's recovery."

A 'sphere of moral concern' includes those entities that have moral interests or moral value. Which of these lists of 'spheres of moral concern' increases from narrower to broader (or smallest to largest)? a. you --> your nation --> your neighborhood --> the animal kingdom b. you --> your family --> your peers --> your siblings c. you --> your nation --> humanity --> the biosphere d. the biosphere --> humanity --> your nation --> you e. you --> sentient beings --> humanity

c. you --> your nation --> humanity --> the biosphere

In assessing whether we are morally obligated to help someone in need of charity, Kant suggests that a universal law could exist in accordance with this principle or maxim: "I will take nothing from him nor even envy him, only I do not wish to contribute anything to his welfare or to his assistance in distress." Yet, Kant contends that we should not accept this maxim. What is the best explanation of why we should not accept it, according to Kant? a. The maxim leads to a contradiction in conception. b. The maxim represents a selfish perspective. c. The maxim leads to a contradiction with our own interests. d. The maxim leads to a contradiction in will.

d. The maxim leads to a contradiction in will.

Meta-ethics

discusses the nature of moral discourse. Are evaluative statements the kinds of statements that can be true or false, or are they just expressions of emotions

What kind of argument is one in which, if the premises are true, the conclusion is guaranteed to be true? a. A sound argument. b. An argument with independently supporting premises. c. A valid argument. d. A valid argument with conjointly supporting premises. e. Choices a., c., and d. are all correct.

e. Choices a., c., and d. are all correct.

Identify the claim that most clearly represents a fundamental difference in the theories of Mill and Kant a. whether virtue is central to doing the right thing. b. whether charity is right. c. whether the focus of a moral theory should be on "right action" or "good character". d. whether you should pull the switch in the "switch case" of the trolley problem. e. whether consequences or intentions are most important in determining right actions

e. whether consequences or intentions are most important in determining right actions

Unit 1 PP

https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1ugqoBPfeUTg8R38BdgdNOIC3-npexen-GAFTKAvIgvc/edit#slide=id.g77eda255ab_0_133

Branches of Ethics

meta-ethics, applied ethics, normative ethics

Moral Symmetry Principle

not doing A is the same as doing B (preventing the fetus from ever gaining the self-concept, is equivalent to never starting the action that brought the fetus into existence) -Injecting kitten with x example