PHIL 1030 test 1 review

features of moral norms

normative dominance, universality, impartiality, reasonableness

definition: thought that moral norms are the kinds of things that trump other norms

normative dominance

definition: if a norm apples to a situation, it apples to all the situations (applies to all types of norms)

universality

definition: all people should be considered equal, and that everyone’s interest should count the same when engaging in moral reasoning

impartiality

definition: if our moral judgements are to have any weight, they must be backed by reasons and not be based on whim or simple personal preference

reasonableness

principles of morals

autonomy, nonmaleficence, beneficence, utility, justice

definition: a person’s rational ability to direct their own life and make their own choices; diminished when people are not fully informed

autonomy

definition: demands that we not intentionally or unintentionally cause harm to others

nonmaleficence

definition: we should do good to others by advancing their welfare and preventing harm to them

beneficence

definition: we should produce the most favorable balance of good over bad for all concerned

utility

definition: involved people getting what is fair and what is their due

justice

definition: concerned with the fair distribution of society’s advantages and disadvantages; basic principle - equals should be treated equally

distributive justice

definiton: emphasizes personal freedoms and the right to pursue one’s own social and economic wellbeing in a free market without interference from others

libertarian theories of justice

definition: maintain that a just distribution is an equal distribution (social benefits)

egalitarian theories of justice

definition: thought that moral principles are not objective but only relative to what people believe

ethical relativism

definition: an individual is the measure of what is morally correct (makes it easy to stop unpleasant debate

subjectivism

what are the problems with subjectivism

each person is morally infallible, more disagreements are illusory (not real)

definition: one’s culture is the measure of what is morally correct

cultural relativism

what are the problems with cultural relativism

implies moral infallibility, we cannot legitimately criticize other cultures, makes it impossible to say that there has been moral progress over time, cannot make sense of the possibility of moral reformers, who were morally in the right and whose societies were morally in the wrong, and difficulty spelling out the “society” which should serve as providing the standard for moral rightness and wrongness

definition: one or more statements that give support to a further statement

argument

definition: supporting statements

premise

definition: supported statement

conclusion

definition:an assertion that something is or is not the case and is something that is either true or false

statement

definition: if the premises are true, the conclusion must be false

deductive arguments

definition: is comprised of validity and true premises; entitled to believe the conclusion; can be unsound in two ways: false premises or invalid

soundness

what is modus ponens? is it valid or invalid?

if p, then q - p - therefore q; valid

what is modus tollens? is it valid or invalid?

if p, then q - not q - therefore, not p; valid

definition: distorts the representation of an opponent’s views so that the views can be attacked more easily

straw man fallacy

definition: involves rejecting somebody’s views or statement because it comes from that particular person, not because there is something wrong with the statement

appeal to the person

definition: aims to prove something by appealing to something we don’t know. it either involves claiming something is true because is has been proven false or that something is false because it has not been proven true

appeal to ignorance

definition: tries to establish a conclusion by using that very conclusion as its own support

begging the question

definition: argues that a particular action shuld not be taken because it will inevitably lead to actions with much worse outcomes

slippery slope

definition: the rightness of actions depend only on the consequences or results of the actions, and how much good they produce

consequentialist ethics

definition: right actions are those that result in the most benficial balance of good over bad consequences for all involved; leading consequentialist theory

utilitarianism

definition: form of ethics that says the right action in any situation is the one that has the best overall good in that situation only

act utilitarianism

definition: the rightness of an actual determines if it maximizes good and conforms to a rule

rule utilitarianism

definition: one ought to act so as to best promote the happiness of (all) humankind

principle of utility

principle of utility involves three subclaims

desirability, exhaustiveness, and impartiality

definition: happiness is a desirable as an end

desirability

definition: only happiness is desirable as an end

exhaustiveness

definition: each person’s happiness is equally desirable

impartiality

definition: the method used in utilitarian to evaluate the moral rightness of an action by calculating its overall consequences in terms of happiness or utility

utilitarian calculus

utilitarian calculus involves two things

measuring the amount of pleasure or happiness an action will produce, weighting the positive and negative effects on all those effected; and choosing the action that maximizes overall happiness for the greatest number of people

definition: a moral theory that judges the rightness and wrongness of actions based on whether they follow certain rules or duties, rather than based on their consequences; duty based - actions are morally right if they follow a set of rules or moral duties, intent matters more than outcome - even if the action leads to bad consequences, it can still be morally right if done out of duty, some actions are always right or wrong

deontological ethics

definition: a type of deontological moral theory developed by the philosopher Immanuel Kant; focuses on moral duties, rationality, and the intention behind actions, rather than their consequences; key ideas - categorical imperative, hypothetical imperative, moral worth comes from duty

kantian ethics

definition: command that applies without expectation and without regard for one’s inclinations or optional ends

categorical imperative

what is the 1st formulation of the categorical imperative

“act only on the maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should be a universal law”

what is the 2nd formulation of categorical imperative

“act in such a way that you always treat humanity, whether in your own person or in the person of any other, never simply as a means, but always at the same time as an end”

definition: command that applies without exceptions and without regard for one’s inclinations or optional ends

categorical imperative

definition:command to do something if one wants to achieve a particular end

hypothetical imperative

definition: concerned with answering the question “what makes a person have an ethically virtuous character”

virtue ethics

what is ethics of care

it contrasts with traditional ethical theories by emphasizing the importance of specific relationships and emotions like empathy and compassion, rather than abstract principles and impartiality; it argues that partiality towards family and close connections is morally appropriate, unlike the universal impartiality often stressed in other theories; also challenges the speration of public and private spheres, highlighting how neglecting moral issues within families can perpetuate inequality and harm, especially for women and children

• the right to use another person’s body for life, or to stay alive. We only have a right to use another person’s body to stay alive if that other person grants us the right to use their body 

  • You don’t have the right to use another person’s body for life, or to stay alive, no matter how little you need another person’s body to stay alive or how easy it is for that other person to give you the use of their body that you need. You only have a right to use another person’s body to stay alive if that person actively gives you permission to use their body.

    • Supporting scenarios: henry fonda’s cool hand scenario, violinist scenario

• The right not to be actively killed full stop. Thomson says the right to life includes not being justly actively killed, but not all active killing is unjust

  • Thomson thinks it's obvious that:

    • A woman can actively kill a fetus to save her own life

    • A person can unplug from the violinist to save her own life

• Supporting scenarios: growing child scenario

Thomson - defense of abortion

• His argument:

• Main point - Wrong to kill a human being because it robs them of a future, a fetus also has a valuable future like an adult - if thats the case then killing a fetus is robbing them of a valuable life, so it must be wrong to kill a fetus and is murder

• It is wrong to kill us human adults

• Killing is wrong because of its effects on the victim. The loss of one’s life is one of the greatest losses one can suffer, because it deprives one of all the experiences, activities, projects, and enjoyments that would have constituted one’s future

• A standard fetus has a future that includes experiences, projects, activities and enjoyments which are identical to the future of the adult human beings

• Since the reason it is wrong to kill a human being after birth is also a reason that applies to fetuses, it follows that abortion is seriously morally wrong

• Valuable future like ours - If something has a future like ours, its enough to make it wrong to kill it, a fetus has this so it makes it wrong to kill a fetus (abortion)

• Sufficient condition - 

  • something that, if true or present, guarantees that something else is true or will occur.
    Marquis argues that the deprivation of a future like ours is a sufficient condition for the wrongness of killing. That is, if an action deprives an individual of a valuable future (like ours), then that action is morally wrong.

• Necessary conditions

  • A necessary condition is something that must be true or must be present for something else to be true or occur.

  • In Marquis’s context, for something to be wrong (like abortion), a necessary condition might be that it involves the deprivation of a future like ours. Without that, the act wouldn’t be wrong in the way he describes.

• How necessary and sufficient conditions apply in Marquis’s argument

  • He claims what makes killing wrong is that it deprives the victim of their valuable future experiences, activities, and enjoyments (their "future like ours").

  • So, having a valuable future is a sufficient condition for why killing (including abortion) is wrong.

  • It may also be seen as a necessary condition in his argument because without a valuable future to be deprived, killing wouldn’t be wrong in the same way.

Marquis - why abortion is immoral

• Gradual increase in personhood of fetus

• anti-abortionists take human life to begin at conception and therefore maintain that abortion is wrong because it is murder

  • But she notes that not all killings of humans are murder. For instance, one may be justified in killing an innocent person in self-defense

• explains that anti-abortionists believe human life—and thus personhood—begins at conception, making abortion equivalent to murder. However, she points out that not all killings of humans are murder (e.g., self-defense). Pro-choice advocates argue that since a fetus isn’t a person until after birth, a woman has the right to control her body. English counters that one’s bodily autonomy doesn’t extend to harming others, and even non-persons like animals deserve moral consideration.

• She argues that there is no clear criterion or sharp line for when personhood begins. Even if a fetus is a person, abortion can sometimes be justified; and even if it is not, abortion can still be wrong in some cases. English suggests that the morality of abortion should be tied to the concept of personhood, but both sides propose different criteria—anti-abortionists propose sufficient conditions that fetuses meet, while pro-choice advocates propose necessary conditions that fetuses do not.

• also challenges the anti-abortion argument that killing an innocent person is always wrong by noting exceptions like self-defense. She highlights that mistreating non-persons (like animals) is wrong due to their similarities to humans, and similarly, the strong resemblance of a late-term fetus to a newborn makes it morally significant, encouraging sympathy and care for the fetus.

• thinks:

  • In the early months of pregnancy, abortion is permissible if it is in the interest of the pregnant woman or her family

  • In the middle months, abortion is justifiable only when continued pregnancy or birth would cause serious physical, psychological, economic, or social harms to the woman

  • In the late months, abortion is wrong except to save a woman from significant death or injury

• She concludes by noting that the application of the concept of a person is not enough to settle the issue of abortion - this is because the development into personhood is a gradual process

english - abortion as self-defense

• Respect for creation

• argues that thinking abortion is morally important doesn’t depend on the fetus being a person with rights, but rather on respecting the significance of potential human life. Women’s struggles with abortion often center on themes of motherhood and respect for creation. For some, abortion is about avoiding motherhood rather than pregnancy itself; for others, the idea of the fetus as their future child motivates them to continue the pregnancy. Little believes women have a moral right to decline parenthood until the fetus is considered a person, as becoming a mother profoundly changes one’s identity and life commitments. Women’s decisions vary based on their values, commitments, and views on responsibility for creating life. Ultimately, Little suggests that abstract debates on human life’s value won’t resolve abortion; instead, the issue involves grappling with the meanings of creating life, responsibility, and motherhood.

little - motherhood

definiton: directly causing somebody to die (ex. giving them a lethal injection); is a species of killing; is illegal and officially condemned by the medical profession

active euthanasia

definition: letting somebody die by not doing something that would keep them alive (ex. removing a feeding tube or ventilator); a species of letting die; is legal and officially endorsed by the medical profession

passive euthanasia

definition: involves situations where competent patients voluntarily request euthanasia and communicate their request either will competent or through instructions to e followed if they become incompetent

voluntary euthanasia

definition: involves patients who are not competent to choose death for themselves and who have not made their preferences known beforehand

nonvoluntary euthanasia

definition: bringing about a person’s death against their will or without asking for consenet even thought they are competent to decide

involuntary euthanasia