Ethics

Lesson 5: Ethical thinking

 Moral argument

• A moral argument has a conclusion that is a moral statement.

• Example:
•
P1. Killing people is morally impermissible
P2. Abortion is killing people
------------------------------------------------------------
C. Abortion is morally impermissible
 Moral principles
• A principle is a general rule or recommendation which applies to a
number of specific cases. They may appear in arguments as very
general statements which function as reasons, or they may underline
arguments as unstated assumptions.

• Example: Killing people is morally wrong

 Different levels of moral principle
• Specific moral principle: Killing people is wrong, Telling lie is wrong
etc.
• More general moral principle: Loving people, justice etc.
• Ultimate moral principle in ethical theory: Utilitarian principle in
Utilitarianism, Categorical imperative in Kantian ethics.
Distinction between moral and non-moral argument

• A moral argument must have a conclusion which makes some kind of

moral claim. These moral claims are often expressed as
recommendations, using the words “should” or “ought”.

• 1. killing people is wrong

• 2.one plus one equals four is wrong
 Non-moral recommendation

• However, the presence of a recommendation or an evaluative term

cannot be taken as a guarantee that a moral argument is being
presented, since not all recommendations are moral
recommendations, and not all evaluations are moral evaluations.

• Example: If you want to have good health, you should do exercise.

Moral or non-moral recommendation?

moral Non-moral
• If your mother is sick, then you • If you want to cross the harbor,
should take care of her. then you should take MTR.
 Moral argument again
• Moral argument has the conclusion as a moral statement. And in
most cases, at least one premise is also moral statement.
• Example:
• P1. It is wrong to inflict unnecessary suffering on people
• P2. Imprisonment causes unnecessary suffering by restricting
• people’s freedom of movement
• ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• C. It is wrong to imprison people
 Evaluate argument
• Clarify concept?

• Logical strength?

• True premises?
 Make the argument complete
• Sometimes, a premise (usually moral statement) is omitted but
actually it is controversial or questionable.
• For example,
• P. The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution
• protects people’s right “to keep and bear arms”.
• ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• C. People have a moral right to own a handgun.
• The missing premise is “An action or policy is morally right if it is
constitutional.”

• But that is questionable, owning slaves was a legal right before 1865
in U.S.
 examine the fact
• Sometimes people believed something is true without examine it.
• For example, in the past most physicians lied to patients who were
dying because they believed that telling patients the truth would
upset them and hasten their deaths. But a study found that terminal
cancer patient did better and lived longer if they knew the truth about
their conditions.
• Another example, some people believe that the practice of
cohabitation on the grounds that people live together before
marriage have a better chance of a successful marriage. However,
research does not support this claim.
 Common fallacy in moral argument
• Naturalistic fallacy

• Appeal to people
• Fallacy
• Hasty generalization

• Slippery slope fallacy

 Identify fallacy
• 1. The majority agree that homosexual is immoral, so homosexual is
immoral. Appeal to people

• 2. Cloning humans is wrong because it is unnatural. Therefore, human

cloning ought to be illegal. Naturalistic fallacy

• 3. Four Space students cheating in exam, so all Space students are cheaters
and we should not hire them. Hasty generation

• 4. Same-sex marriage should not be legalized. Because if it does, the next

step is marriage between human and animal, and finally we will have
marriage between human and plant, that is ridiculous. Slippery slope
 Moral dilemma
• Moral dilemma is a situation in which we have a conflict between
moral values.

• Solutions to moral dilemma are not necessarily right or wrong, usually

better or worse.
 Abortion
• Definition: voluntary termination of pregnancy
• It involves killing the fetus, is abortion is morally permissible?

• Of course, involuntary termination of pregnancy is morally

impermissible as it is against the will of the woman.
 Main argument against abortion
• P1. Abortion is killing people
• P2. Killing people is morally wrong
• -------------------------------------------------
• C. Abortion is morally wrong

• All A are B
• All B are C
• -----------------------------------
• All A are C valid
• Abortion is killing people
• A fetus is a person
• A fetus is not a person
• Killing people is wrong , T we have to live
• It is a valid argument, so if you want to attack this argument, you can
only attack its premises.

• P1. Abortion is killing people

• P2. Killing people is morally wrong
 Mary Warren’s personhood argument

• P1. No fetus is a person

• P2. Only a person has right to life a fetus has no right to live
• P3. Killing a person violates his right to life
• P4. Violates right to life is morally wrong killing a person are
j morally wrong
• ------------------------------------------------------------
• C. Abortion is not morally wrong
 Is fetus a person?
• Mary Warren’s criteria:
• 1. Consciousness
• 2. Reasoning
• 3. Self-awareness
• 4. Self-control
• 5. Capacity to communicate
 Counterargument
• P1. If Mary’s Warren’s theory is correct, then infanticide is also
• morally permissible
• P2. Infanticide is morally impermissible
• --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• C. Mary’s theory is incorrect
• If A then B
• Not B
• ------------------------------------------------
• Not A valid
 Main argument support abortion
• P1. Fetus is not person, just a living tissue in the body of the women
• P2. The woman has a right to do what happens to her body
• ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
• C. Abortion is morally permissible

•
 Conflict between rights
• A fetus is a person, it has right to life.
• A woman has right to control her body, a fetus is just a part of her
body.
Does pregnant woman has duty to the fetus?
• Some philosophers argue that if a pregnant woman was not raped but
had sex voluntarily, she has a duty to sustain the fetus.

• Once a woman voluntarily engages in sexual intercourse, she has

suspended her right to her bodily autonomy by engaging in an act
that brought a new life into existence.
 Exceptional cases?
• Some people think that abortion is morally impermissible in general,
but there are exceptional cases:
1. Pregnancy due to rape
2. Abnormal fetus
3. The pregnant woman’s life is threatened by the fetus
4. The pregnant woman is under age
5. Poor family
Development stages of fetus
• conception 0 week

• zygote 2 weeks

• embryo 3 weeks

• fetus 9 weeks
• quickening 12-16 weeks
•
• viability 25 weeks
• birth 40 weeks
 In what stage a fetus is a person?
Stage Reason
Conception A fertilized egg is already a person even though it is a
cluster of cells. Because it contains the necessary
genetic materials of human.

Embryo 3-8th week, brain wave has been detected.

Quickening 12-16th week, the woman feels the movement of the
fetus.

Viability 25th week, the fetus is able to survive outside the body
of the woman.

Birth Of course, it is a person.

 Sentience and interest
• Scientific evidence suggests that human fetuses being to acquire and
develop the capacity of sentience after 3 months of pregnancy.

• Some philosophers believe that the possession of sentience is a

sufficient condition for the possession of moral status and moral
rights even though it is not yet a person.
 Euthanasia
• Definition: Intentional killing or letting patient die for the purpose of
eliminate his suffering.

• What kind of patient: terminally ill patients, patients in coma, severe

mentally or physically handicapped people, chronically ill patients in
great suffering.
 Intention of patient
The patient wants to die Voluntary euthanasia

The patient unable to express Non-voluntary euthanasia

his intention

The patient doesn’t want to die Involuntary euthanasia

 Methods used

Do something to kill the patient, Active euthanasia

such as lethal injection

Remove the life support system Passive euthanasia

and let the patient die
euthanasia active passive

voluntary ? Morally
permissible

Non-voluntary ? Morally
permissible

involuntary Morally Morally

impermissible impermissible
For euthanasia

Right to die autonomy Eliminate suffering

Voluntary active
euthanasia

Voluntary passive
euthanasia

Non-voluntary
active euthanasia

Non-voluntary
passive euthanasia

Involuntary active
euthanasia

Involuntary passive
euthanasia
Against euthanasia

Right to life Doctor’s duty

Voluntary active
euthanasia

Voluntary passive
euthanasia

Non-voluntary active
euthanasia

Non-voluntary passive
euthanasia

Involuntary active
euthanasia

Involuntary passive
euthanasia
Is euthanasia a kind of suicide?