2. What Are Three Arguments Given Concerning Whether To Use Baby Liar?
Chapter 1:
1. What is Socrates definition of morality/ethics? “how we ought to live.”
2. Where do professional ethicists work? At universities, hospitals, and law schools
3. What are three arguments given concerning whether to use baby Theresa’s organs?
a. Transplanting the organs would benefit the other children without harming Baby Theresa.
b. It is wrong to use people as means to other people’s ends.
c. It is wrong to kill one person to save another
4. Generally speaking, an argument is sound if its assumptions are true and the conclusion follows logically from them.
5. When people are unable to make decisions for themselves, and others must do it for them, there are two reasonable guidelines that might be adopted.
a. First what …show more content…
would be in their own best interests?
b. The second guideline…If she could tell us what she wants, what would she say?
6. What two arguments are given to help decide whether to separate the twins?
a.
We should save as many as we can
b. Sanctity of Human Life
7. What two arguments are given in the case of Tracy Latimer?
a. Wrongness of discrimination against the handicapped
b. Slippery slope
8. What can we learn from all this about the nature of morality?
a. First, moral judgments must be backed by good reasons.
b. Second, morality requires the impartial consideration of each individual’s interests.
9. Thus, if we want to discover the truth, we must let our feelings be guided as much as possible by reason. This is the essence of morality.
10. The first thing is to get one’s facts straight
11. Next we can bring moral principles into play
12. The conscientious moral agent is someone who is:
a. Concerned impartially with the interests of everyone affected by what he or she does.
b. Who carefully sifts facts and examines their implications.
c. Who accepts principles of conduct only after scrutinizing them to make sure they are justified.
d. Who is willing to “listen to reason” even when it means revisiting prior convictions.
e. And who, finally, is willing to act on the results of this deliberation. Chapter 2:
1. The following claims have all been made by culturally …show more content…
relativists:
a. Different societies have different moral codes.
b. The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society; if the moral code of a society says that a certain action is right, then that action is right, at least within that society.
c.
There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one society’s code as better than another’s. There are no moral truths that hold all people at all times.
d. The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is but one among many
e. It is arrogant for us to judge other cultures. We should always be tolerant of them.
2. The difference is in our belief system, not in our value systems.
3. There is a general point here, namely, that there are some moral rules that all societies must embrace, because those rules are necessary for society to exist.
4. Many people who are horrified by excision are nevertheless reluctant to condemn it, for three reasons.
a. First, there is an understandable nervousness about interfering in the social customs of other people
b. Second, people may feel, rightly enough, that we should be tolerant of other cultures.
c. Finally, people may be reluctant to judge because they do not want to express contempt for the society being criticized.
5. However, if we are to criticize the practice of slavery, or stoning, or genital mutilation, and if such practices are really and truly wrong, then we must appeal to principals that are not tethered to any particular
society.
6. Everyone without exception believes his own native customs, and the religion he was brought up in, to be the best.
1. What is Socrates definition of morality/ethics? “how we ought to live.”
2. Where do professional ethicists work? At universities, hospitals, and law schools
3. What are three arguments given concerning whether to use baby Theresa’s organs?
a. Transplanting the organs would benefit the other children without harming Baby Theresa.
b. It is wrong to use people as means to other people’s ends.
c. It is wrong to kill one person to save another
4. Generally speaking, an argument is sound if its assumptions are true and the conclusion follows logically from them.
5. When people are unable to make decisions for themselves, and others must do it for them, there are two reasonable guidelines that might be adopted.
a. First what …show more content…
would be in their own best interests?
b. The second guideline…If she could tell us what she wants, what would she say?
6. What two arguments are given to help decide whether to separate the twins?
a.
We should save as many as we can
b. Sanctity of Human Life
7. What two arguments are given in the case of Tracy Latimer?
a. Wrongness of discrimination against the handicapped
b. Slippery slope
8. What can we learn from all this about the nature of morality?
a. First, moral judgments must be backed by good reasons.
b. Second, morality requires the impartial consideration of each individual’s interests.
9. Thus, if we want to discover the truth, we must let our feelings be guided as much as possible by reason. This is the essence of morality.
10. The first thing is to get one’s facts straight
11. Next we can bring moral principles into play
12. The conscientious moral agent is someone who is:
a. Concerned impartially with the interests of everyone affected by what he or she does.
b. Who carefully sifts facts and examines their implications.
c. Who accepts principles of conduct only after scrutinizing them to make sure they are justified.
d. Who is willing to “listen to reason” even when it means revisiting prior convictions.
e. And who, finally, is willing to act on the results of this deliberation. Chapter 2:
1. The following claims have all been made by culturally …show more content…
relativists:
a. Different societies have different moral codes.
b. The moral code of a society determines what is right within that society; if the moral code of a society says that a certain action is right, then that action is right, at least within that society.
c.
There is no objective standard that can be used to judge one society’s code as better than another’s. There are no moral truths that hold all people at all times.
d. The moral code of our own society has no special status; it is but one among many
e. It is arrogant for us to judge other cultures. We should always be tolerant of them.
2. The difference is in our belief system, not in our value systems.
3. There is a general point here, namely, that there are some moral rules that all societies must embrace, because those rules are necessary for society to exist.
4. Many people who are horrified by excision are nevertheless reluctant to condemn it, for three reasons.
a. First, there is an understandable nervousness about interfering in the social customs of other people
b. Second, people may feel, rightly enough, that we should be tolerant of other cultures.
c. Finally, people may be reluctant to judge because they do not want to express contempt for the society being criticized.
5. However, if we are to criticize the practice of slavery, or stoning, or genital mutilation, and if such practices are really and truly wrong, then we must appeal to principals that are not tethered to any particular
society.
6. Everyone without exception believes his own native customs, and the religion he was brought up in, to be the best.