Question 1

Explain what Rachels means when he says, "If one simply withholds treatment, it may take the patient longer to die, and so he may suffer more than he would if more direct action were taken and a lethal injection given. This fact provides strong reason for thinking that, once the initial decision not to prolong his agony has been made active euthanasia is actually preferable to passive euthanasia, rather than the reverse."

Accepted Answer

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Question 2

Explain what Rachels means when he says, "If the life of such an infant is worth preserving, what does it matter if it needs a simple operation? Or, if one thinks it better that such a baby should not live on, what difference does it make that it happens to have an unobstructed intestinal tract? In either case, the matter of life and death is being decided on irrelevant grounds."

Accepted Answer

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Question 3

In the reading, Rachels asks us to consider this case: If letting die were in itself less bad than killing, then someone who said "After all, I didn't do anything except just stand there and watch the child drown. I didn't kill him; I only let him die," should have at least some weight. Rachels says, "But it does not. Such a 'defense' can only be regarded as a grotesque perversion of moral reasoning." Do you agree with Rachels?

Accepted Answer

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Question 4

Explain what Rachels means when he says, "it is not exactly correct to say that in passive euthanasia the doctor does nothing, for he does do one thing that is very important, he lets the patient die." Why is this important for Rachels's position?

Accepted Answer

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Question 5

Explain what Rachels means when he says, "doctors must be concerned about the legal consequences of what they do, and active euthanasia is clearly forbidden by the law. But even so, doctors should also be concerned with the fact that the law is forcing upon them a moral doctrine that may well be indefensible, and has a considerable effect on their practices."

Accepted Answer

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Question 6

According to Thomson, "Similar things might be said about the development of an acorn into an oak tree, and it does not follow that acorns are oak trees, or that we had better say they are. Arguments of this form are sometimes called ________________________; the phrase is perhaps self-explanatory, and it is dismaying that opponents of abortion rely on them so heavily and uncritically."

Accepted Answer

Thomson refers to "slippery slope arguments" in this context, indicating that the progression from one state to another (e.g., from acorn to oak tree) does not necessarily mean the initial state is equivalent to the final state, a logical fallacy opponents of abortion might use to equate a fetus with a person.

Question 7

Thomson asks us to consider the following thought experiment: "You wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with an unconscious _________. He has been found to have a fatal kidney ailment, and the Society of Music Lovers has canvassed all the available medical records and found that you alone have the right blood type to help."

Accepted Answer

This is a scenario presented in Judith Jarvis Thomson's essay "A Defense of Abortion" to discuss the ethics of abortion. The point of the scenario is to question whether it would be morally justifiable to force someone to donate their organs (in this case, a kidney) to save another person's life. The specific profession of the unconscious person doesn't really matter, but choosing option D) violinist aligns with the original scenario presented by Thomson.

Question 8

In the reading, we find this argument: "All persons have a right to life, and violinists are persons. Granted you have a right to decide what happens in and to your body, but a person's _____________ outweighs your right to decide what happens in and to your body."

Accepted Answer

The argument states that all persons have a right to life, and violinists are persons, therefore implying that the right to life outweighs the right to decide what happens in and to your body. Clinical care, family ties, and medical history are not mentioned as factors that outweigh the right to bodily autonomy.

Question 9

According to Thomson, "the arguments against abortion we are looking at do grant that the woman has a right to decide what happens in and to her body. But although they do grant it, I have tried to show that they ..."

Accepted Answer

Thomson argues that the arguments against abortion acknowledge a woman's right to decide what happens in and to her body but do not take it seriously enough. She believes that the arguments fail to acknowledge that the woman's right to bodily autonomy should include the right to terminate a pregnancy. In other words, while they grant the right in theory, they do not truly accept its implications.

Question 10

According to Thomson, "I am arguing only that having a _____________ does not guarantee having either a right to be given the use of or a right to be allowed continued use of another person's body-even if one needs it for life itself."

Accepted Answer

Thomson is arguing that even if someone has a right to life, it does not necessarily mean they have a right to use or continue using another person's body without their consent.

Question 11

According to Thomson, "The emendation which may be made at this point is this: the right to life consists not in the right not to be killed, but rather in the right not to be ..."

Accepted Answer

Thomson argues that the right to life is not just the right not to be killed, but also includes the right not to be killed unjustly. This is because being killed unjustly violates one's right to fair and just treatment, which is a fundamental aspect of the right to life. Choices A, B, and D are not the best choices because they do not align with Thomson's argument.

Question 12

According to Thomson, "A further objection to so using the term 'right' that from the fact that A ought to do a thing for B it follows that B has a right against A that A do it for him, is that it is going to make the question of whether or not a man has a right to a thing turn on how easy it is to provide him with it; and this seems not merely unfortunate, but ..."

Accepted Answer

Thomson argues that it is morally unacceptable to define a right solely based on how easy it is to provide the thing the right pertains to.

Question 13

According to Thomson, "If anyone does wish to deduce 'he has a right' from ___________, then all the same he must surely grant that there are cases in which it is not morally required of you that you allow that violinist to use your kidneys, and in which he does not have a right to use them, and in which you do not do him an injustice if you refuse."

Accepted Answer

Thomson is using the scenario of the violinist to illustrate the limitations and nuances of the concept of rights. She argues that even if one believes that there is a moral duty to help the violinist, it does not necessarily follow that the violinist has a right to use one's kidneys, as there may be other factors to consider (such as bodily autonomy). Therefore, the blank can be filled with the phrase 'you ought', as Thomson is pointing out that even if there is a moral imperative to act a certain way, it does not mean that the other person automatically has a right to your actions.

Question 14

According to Thomson, "I have throughout been speaking of the fetus merely as a person, and what I have been asking is whether or not the argument we began with, which proceeds only from the fetus's being a person, really does establish its conclusion. I have argued that ..."

Accepted Answer

Thomson concludes that the argument from fetus's personhood fails to establish the conclusion that abortion is always morally wrong.

Question 15

Thomson says that her position "allows for and supports our sense that, for example, a sick and desperately frightened fourteen-year-old schoolgirl, pregnant due to rape, may of course choose abortion, and that any law which rules this out is ..."

Accepted Answer

Thomson argues that a law preventing a young girl, pregnant due to rape, from choosing abortion is unreasonable or "insane," reflecting her view on the moral and ethical considerations involved.

Question 16

According to Thomson, "Similar things might be said about the development of an acorn into an oak tree, and it does not follow that acorns are oak trees, or that we had better say they are. Arguments of this form are sometimes called 'slippery slope arguments'; the phrase is perhaps self-explanatory, and it is dismaying that opponents of abortion rely on them so heavily and uncritically."

Accepted Answer

Thomson asserts that slippery slope arguments are relied upon heavily and uncritically by opponents of abortion.

Question 17

Thomson asks us to consider the following thought experiment: "You wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with an unconscious guitarist. He has been found to have a fatal kidney ailment, and the Society of Music Lovers has canvassed all the available medical records and found that you alone have the right blood type to help."

Accepted Answer

The answer of Thomson asks us to consider the following...

Question 18

In the reading, we find this argument: "All persons have a right to life, and violinists are persons. Granted you have a right to decide what happens in and to your body, but a person's right to life outweighs your right to decide what happens in and to your body."

Accepted Answer

The argument is presenting the idea that a person's right to life takes precedence over someone else's right to decide what happens to their body in the case of the violinist thought experiment. Therefore, it is true that all persons have a right to life, and that this right outweighs bodily autonomy in certain situations.

Question 19

According to Thomson, "the arguments against abortion we are looking at do grant that the woman has a right to decide what happens in and to her body. But although they do grant it, I have tried to show that they do not take seriously what is done in granting it."

Accepted Answer

Thomson is arguing that although opponents of abortion may acknowledge a woman's right to decide what happens to her body, they fail to apply this principle consistently in their arguments against abortion.

Question 20

According to Thomson, "I am arguing only that having a legal basis does not guarantee having either a right to be given the use of or a right to be allowed continued use of another person's body-even if one needs it for life itself."

Accepted Answer

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Quiz 7: Plato Why Should We Be Good

Explain what Rachels means when he says, "it is not exactly correct to say that in passive euthanasia the doctor does nothing, for he does do one thing that is very important, he lets the patient die." Why is this important for Rachels's position?

In the reading, we find this argument: "All persons have a right to life, and violinists are persons. Granted you have a right to decide what happens in and to your body, but a person's _____________ outweighs your right to decide what happens in and to your body."

According to Thomson, "the arguments against abortion we are looking at do grant that the woman has a right to decide what happens in and to her body. But although they do grant it, I have tried to show that they ..."

According to Thomson, "I am arguing only that having a _____________ does not guarantee having either a right to be given the use of or a right to be allowed continued use of another person's body-even if one needs it for life itself."

According to Thomson, "The emendation which may be made at this point is this: the right to life consists not in the right not to be killed, but rather in the right not to be ..."

According to Thomson, "I have throughout been speaking of the fetus merely as a person, and what I have been asking is whether or not the argument we began with, which proceeds only from the fetus's being a person, really does establish its conclusion. I have argued that ..."

Thomson says that her position "allows for and supports our sense that, for example, a sick and desperately frightened fourteen-year-old schoolgirl, pregnant due to rape, may of course choose abortion, and that any law which rules this out is ..."

In the reading, we find this argument: "All persons have a right to life, and violinists are persons. Granted you have a right to decide what happens in and to your body, but a person's right to life outweighs your right to decide what happens in and to your body."

According to Thomson, "the arguments against abortion we are looking at do grant that the woman has a right to decide what happens in and to her body. But although they do grant it, I have tried to show that they do not take seriously what is done in granting it."

According to Thomson, "I am arguing only that having a legal basis does not guarantee having either a right to be given the use of or a right to be allowed continued use of another person's body-even if one needs it for life itself."