PHIL 1030 - Quiz 2

5 traits that are thought to central to personhood

(1) consciousness and the capacity to feel pain

(2) reasoning

(3) self-motivated activity

(4) the capacity to communicate

(5) the presence of self-concepts, and self-awareness

Good Will

It is made good not because of its effects on the world but because of the good ends it sets for itself

How many categorical imperatives are there in Kant's philosophy?

Only one but there are several formulations

What are moral laws?

They are laws that must hold for all rational beings

What assumption does Marquis rely on?

Whether abortion is morally permissible will depend on whether the fetus is the kind of being whose life it is wrong to end

What do anti-abortionists say about potential persons?

They say that a fetus is a potential person and potential persons have the same right to life as any existing person

What does English believe?

She believes that not all killings of humans are murder, opposing anti-abortionists that take human life to begin at conception and therefore maintains that abortion is wrong because it is murder

What does English believe about bodily autonomy?

you cannot do what you want with your body if it negatively affects others. In addition, even if a fetus is not a person, this doesn't mean one can do whatever one wants to it. Animals are not persons, but it's still wrong to kill them for no reason

What does English believe about the development into personhood?

She believes that it is a gradual process

What does 'human being' in the premise "killing an innocent human being is wrong" mean?

It refers to an entity that has all the attributes and capacities that we normally associate with the possession of full moral rights, including the right to life

What does 'human being' in the premise "The unborn is an innocent human being" mean?

It refers to an entity that is biologically human, a member of the human species

What does it mean to be virtuous beyond just acting in the right ways?

Being virtuous is not just about acting correctly; it also involves having the right feelings and emotions that motivate one's actions.

What does Little believe about abortion?

thinking abortion is morally important does not require supposing the fetus is a person, something with an interest in a continued life. Abortion may be morally important because there is something significant about the growth of human life that deserves our respect. An organism that is a potential person may not have rights, but it is still the kind of thing that is worthy of respect.

What does morally correct actions depend on?

It depends on being acted upon by the motive of duty

What does pro-choice try to prove?

It tries to identify characteristics of personhood and show fetuses do not have them

What does the ethics of care focus on?

It focuses on the demands of particular situations and to the feelings and virtues that are constitutive of close personal relationships, such as empathy, compassion, love, sympathy, and fidelity

What does the ethics of care say about overly impartialness?

We owe more of out time and resources to those with whom we stand in caring relationships than to strangers

What does Thomson believe about contraception?

woman who takes reasonable measures to prevent pregnancy (though she does not do everything possible to prevent it) does NOT count as granting the fetus the right to use her body just because she is (by having sex) responsible for the fetus coming to use her body.

What does Thomson believe about the right to live?

Simply being alive doesn't mean you have the right not to be actively killed

The right to life includes not being unjustly actively killed but not all active killing is unjust

What does Thomson think that the right to life doesn't include?

(1) The right to use another person's body for life, or to stay alive. We only have aright to use another person's body to stay alive if that other person grants us the right to use their body.

(2) the right not to be actively killed full stop. Thomson says the right to life includes not being unjustly actively killed. But not all active killing is unjust

What is a categorical imperative?

a command that applies without exception and without regard for one's inclinations or optional ends

What is a hypothetical imperative?

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

What is a maxim?

a principle or rule that guides your action

What is Duty?

It is the respect one has for the moral law

What is Imperative?

It is a command to do something

What is Little's opinion on motherhood?

According to Little, until the fetus is a person, we should recognize a moral right to decline parenthood and end the pregnancy because motherhood can fundamentally change one's practical identity. The process of becoming a mother changes one's life commitments and the terms by which one takes one's life to be a success or a failure

What is Marquis's argument?

1. It is wrong to kill us human adults.

2. Killing is wrong because of its effect 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.

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

4. 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

What is Marquis's opinion about abortion?

He believes that abortion is immoral and is the same kind of thing as killing an innocent human adult

What is the 1st formulation of the categorical imperative?

"Act only on that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law"

What is the 2nd formulation of the 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"

What is the main argument against abortion?

(1) Killing an innocent human being is wrong.

(2) The unborn is an innocent human being.

(3) Therefore, it is wrong to kill the unborn.

What is the theme of motherhood, according to little, and abortion?

The desire to end pregnancy is not the desire to avoid nine months of being pregnant but to avoid motherhood

What is Thomson's opinion on the personhood of a fetus?

She thinks its false that the fetus is a person from the moment of conception

What is virtue?

It is a stable disposition to act in excellent fashion

It's not about following specific rules, but rather having a consistent disposition to do what a virtuous person would in any given situation.

What is virtue ethics concerned with?

It is concerned with answering the question: "What makes a person have an ethically virtuous character?"

What is will?

It is Kant's term for the capacity to rationally set ends for oneself

What themes do pregnant women focus on when thinking about getting an abortion?

Motherhood and respect for creation

When does English think that abortion is okay?

-in the early months of pregnancy, abortion is permissible if it is in the interests 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 injury or death