Philosophy 112 Trad Arg (w/ criterions)

Present the Traditional Argument

1. The fetus is a human

2. If (1), then the fetus has a right to life

3. If the fetus has a right to life, then abortion is prima facie wrong

4. The right to life is a very strong right

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5. Abortion is prima facie wrong

Define fetus

Unborn entity at any stage of development

Define Human

Something that has rights, like the right to life, property rights, right to dignity, etc. Human in the moral sense.

Define and explain prima facie

Defined: On the face of it.

Explained: This is a paraphrased example from Plato: Suppose I lent you my sword, and now I’m asking for it back because I want to kill my lover and my son. In this case, I have a prima facie right to my property. That does not mean you should give me my sword, however! Some rights outweigh others. The humans I plan to kill have a more meaningful right to life. So, prima facie indicates that it is just one moral consideration.

Explain Trad Arg

So (1) says an unborn entity (of humans) is something that has rights, (2) says, one of these is the right to life. (3) says well then on the face of it, abortion is wrong. (4) says the right to life is very wrong. (5) concludes that abortion, or the termination of any unborn entity (of humans) is wrong on the face of it, such that it would be very difficult for other moral considerations to outweigh it.

Social Criterion

In order to be considered human, you must be recognized by society.

Parental criterion

In order to be considered human, you must be recognized by your parents.

The viability criterion

In order to be human, you must be capable of living independently.

The experience criterion

In order to be human, you must have had formative experiences (like loving, suffering, learning, etc.)

Two definitions of conscious: 1. Sensations, feelings of pressure, sound etc. 2. Self-aware experience.

Biological criterion

In order to be human, you must be a homo sapien

Defined: Potentiality criterion

In order to be human, you must have the potentiality for formative experiences.

Evaluated: Biological Criterion

It says that all fetuses are humans, the moment they come into being (when the 2 parents dna combine into original dna).

Evaluated: Potentiality criterion (and what does it say about the 1st premise about the traditional argument)

It says that MOST fetuses are humans, the second that these entities first come in to being (once the parents dna combine to create new dna). Depending on your view of formative experiences (is it self-aware experience?), perhaps some fetuses (like ones with anencephaly) would not have this potential.