Ethics Study Guide 2

Front 1

1. What does it mean for an argument to have good structure?

Back 1

a. The pieces or premise of the argument fit together and one logically leads to the next that then leads to the conclusion.

Front 2

2. What does it mean for an argument to have good content?

Back 2

a. Each premise of the argument is a true statement or claim.

Front 3

3. Does a valid argument have good structure or good content or both?

Back 3

a. There is good deductive structure (not necessarily content), if all of the premises are true, than the conclusion must be true.

Front 4

4. Does a sound argument have good structure or good content or both?

Back 4

a. Both; it is valid and all premises are true; the structure and content is correct.

Front 5

5. Can the conclusion of a valid argument ever be false?

Back 5

a. Yes? The structure isn’t necessarily correct in a valid argument.

Front 6

6. The conclusion of a sound argument will never be________ (true or false).

Back 6

FALSE

Front 7

7. “Valid” and “sound” describe_________ arguments.

Back 7

Deductive

Front 8

8. Why does Rachel tell you to avoid rhetorical questions in philosophy papers?

Back 8

a. A rhetorical question implies a reduction ad absurdum argument too obvious to need spelling out, the perfect hiding place for an unexamined assumption that might better be explicitly denied. It does no give enough detail, however leaves room for misunderstanding.

Front 9

9. What do you always have to explain before you can give an objection?

Back 9

a. The argument that you are objecting to, along with specifically which premise or where specifically the objection is being made. ?

Front 10

10. What are the two tasks that need to be accomplished in any good objection?

Back 10

a. State clearly what the specific problem is (what/where)
b. Detailed (one paragraph)
c. Is not a question

Front 11

11. What are the two main types of flaws in arguments that one might object to?

Back 11

a. Content
b. Structure

Front 12

12. Arguments are made of a set of____ and a______.

Back 12

Claims, conclusion.

Front 13

13. The ______, when taken together, are meant to give you reason to believe the __________.

Back 13

Premise, Conclusion

Front 14

14. Does a question count as an objection? Why or why not?

Back 14

a. No; its not specific enough, it leaves something that should be answered in a straightforward manner unanswered.

Front 15

15. If you are objecting to an argument, is 1-2 sentences enough to do a good job?

Back 15

a. Not usually; it takes at least a significant paragraph to point at the exact point where you are objecting.

Front 16

16. Describe the Hippocratic oath, both what it is meant to do and also what it says.

Back 16

a. Does: warrants a formal statement by doctors on the topics of: diligent, moral, and ethical conduct in the service of their patients may be stronger than ever. It also allows for the physicians to be aware that they are part of a much larger being. (p. 47)
b. Says: I will respect the gains that others have made and share this knowledge. I will remember the art and science. I will be able to state when there is something that I do not know. I will respect the privacy of my patients. I will not play God. I will remember that I am treating a human. I will attempt to prevent disease. I am still a member of society.

Front 17

17. Of the patient rights recognized by the AMA, which one do you think is most important and why do you think that?

Back 17

a. I think that number six is the most important because it speaks of the patients basic right to obtain health care. I think that there is a lot that goes into this right, as we have spent a few classes going over who gets this right in our country. However, without this right the other ones don’t necessarily matter because the patient wouldn’t be able to even enter into the system for treatment.

Front 18

18. What is Kelley’s historical argument for the claim that we should focus on the responsibilities of medical professionals rather than patient responsibilities? (98)

Back 18

a. The shift to a model of medical decision-making that includes patients as active participants has been driven by moral and legal arguments for informed consent and the right to refuse treatment.
b. These arguments place a great emphasis on the duties of a physician not to abuse the role of expert and to equalize the imbalance between physicians and patients through informed consent and open communication.
c. The inequality of expertise is inherent in any skill-based profession, and given the past (disregard of patient choice), it is appropriate to maintain professional duty with physician at the top (holding greater responsibility).

Front 19

19. What is Kelley’s argument for the claim that we should focus on forward-looking rather than backward-looking claims about responsibility in the context of health care? (98)

Back 19

a. Forward-looking (prospective) responsibilities encourages preventative, responsible behavior in avoiding bad consequences for person, 3rd party & society
b. Backward looking (retrospective) is about assigning blame, figuring out who caused what’s happening now, and responsible for the fault.
c. There are two features of health care that support forward-looking responsibility: the complicated casual nature of health and the disease and the central virtues of being good caregivers; avoid placing blame.
d. We should use the forward-thinking model.

Front 20

20. Give an example of a forward-looking claim about responsibility.

Back 20

a. “Take charge of your body and your life,” (98). An ad educating young African American women in the community to seek family planning, education and career training advice.

Front 21

21. Give an example of a backward-looking claim about responsibility.

Back 21

a. An ad that instead blamed unmarried, pregnant teenagers for messing up lives when they should know better.

Front 22

22. Singer discusses two different ways to understand a right to life. What are the two ways, and how does he link each interpretation to moral claims about voluntary euthanasia?

Back 22

?

Front 23

23. What are the two goals of Gill’s article about PAS in Oregon?

Back 23

a. Show that its okay for terminally ill patients to commit suicide
b. Show that it is okay for doctors to help

Front 24

1. Recreate and object to Leon Kass’ argument about PAS as explained in Gill’s article.

Back 24

a. PAS is meant to promote patient autonomy (would define) by giving terminal patients an option.
b. PAS doesn’t promote autonomy, it eliminates it in death.
c. So PAS is tragic in that it involves self-contradiction (the very thing it is trying to do, it ruined)
d. Therefore PAS is intrinsically wrong. (wrong in some fundamental way, wrong all by itself)
e. Objection to Letter B; If the practice is different enough, we can reject one and accept the other. In OR cases, need expert confirmation of prognosis and competence and death is inevitable (loss of autonomy).

Front 25

25. Recreate the argument from an analogy with slavery about PAS as discussed by Gill.

Back 25

a. Suppose PAS is acceptable
b. If #1 is true, then self-slavery is also ok.
c. But self-slavery isn’t okay.
d. So, we shouldn’t think the PAS is okay.

Front 26

26. Recreate the argument about PAS and the value of autonomy as discussed by Gill.

Back 26

a. Suppose PAS is okay for terminal patients
b. If #1, then PAS is okay for healthy patients; if we value autonomy, then we should value this in healthy patients too.
c. But PAS is not okay for healthy patients
d. So, we shouldn’t accept PAS for terminal patients

Front 27

27. Explain why Gill thinks that big decisions are morally significant when we consider PAS.

Back 27

a. Respecting autonomy= allowing people to make BIG decisions. (With terminal patient, this is one of the last pieces of control) If we really value autonomy, then we wouldn’t deny terminal patients a last chance to make a BIG decision. Terminal patients have special need for their protection

Front 28

28. List 5 of the empirical facts about gender that Wolf relies on in making her arguments about euthanasia and PAS.

Back 28

a. More likely inadequate pain relief *
b. Greater risk for depression & inadequate treatment for depression*
c. More likely to live in poverty (employment difference, children financial burden)
d. Bias*
e. Receive more care, but care is worse *
f. Insurance (jobs with benefits) *
g. Women are more like to unsuccessfully commit suicide

Front 29

29. What are the three beliefs that I suggested that feminists of various kinds have in common?

Back 29

a. Descriptive—Gender is a social category that structures our lives in significant ways.
b. Descriptive—There are and have been systematic disadvantages associated with gender categories (women couldn’t own property/loan without man)
c. Normative—We should eliminate gender-based injustice

Front 30

30. What point is Thomson trying to make by talking about the unconscious violinist?

Back 30

a. Thomson uses this example as something that is concrete that the reader can apply to the subject of abortion. It takes the use of the mother’s body into a different perspective, but very closely mimics the needs of a fetus. She is able to demonstrate rape with the violinist, as a woman that has been raped often would not have known or had the choice, such as with the society doing this to the reader. Ultimately she demonstrates that the right to life is more significant than the right to bodily integrity, outweighing the bodily rights of the reader in comparison to the life of the violinist.

Front 31

31. Why does Thomson talk about “people seeds”?
Referring to a woman who does everything protection wise and she still gets pregnant

Back 31

EX: having screens in your windows to keep nature and others out and seeds are still able to get in through the screens and plant in the rugs – invading your home unwelcomed
Was the fetus given the ‘okay’ to use the woman’s body?

Front 32

32. What point is Thomson trying to make by talking about Henry Fonda?
Where is the line drawn to give an individual what is needed for life

Back 32

EX: An individual is dying and what they need to live is Henry Fonda’s touch on their forehead, does that mean they are entitled to have him come to them and provide his touch, NO
The right to life only includes the right not to be killed; it doesn’t mean you are entitled anything to keeping living

Front 33

33. How is self-defense relevant to Thomson’s article?

Back 33

The right to life, means not to be killed unjustly, which keeps the idea of self-defense relevant, killing an individual in self-defense, is okay

Front 34

34. What is the key assumption made by many people on both sides of the abortion debate that Marquis challenges?

Back 34

Is the human fetus alive
No – a fetus can’t live independently, but really no human can live independently, they all need other things in life to live
Yes – features x,y,z are needed to make something alive, at an earlier point of gestation the fetus has those features, so life begins at the moment of conception

Front 35

35. Why does Marquis say that tracing life all the way back to the moment of conception proves too much?

Back 35

Time is needed, biological process takes time, not a particular moment, yet a process, it also forbids contraception because all sperm and ovums would need to be protected for the potential of life

Front 36

36. What is the difference between the standard view and the future of value view that Marquis talks about?

Back 36

Standard view:
All living human have a right to life because they are living humans
Future of value view:
Killing is wrong when (and only when) it deprives a creature of a valuable life, cause harm
If a fetus has a future of value, abortion is wrong

Front 37

37. What are some advantages, according to Marquis, of the future of value view?

Back 37

There is a low standard for having a valuable life/future – focuses on basics needed to live – most lives are valuable

Front 38

38. Explain some of the differences between India and the US that Moazam says are relevant to questions about the moral status of abortion in the two contexts.

Back 38

India: conditions are different as to why the women might choose SSA – cultural/financial pressures – coerced, not autonomous
US: the women have bodily integrity, autonomy of their own body
Allowing SSA in US might enhance autonomy for women in US but allowing SSA in India is less likely to enhance autonomy of women

Front 39

39. What are some of the problems that Moazam says would come from having the choice to practice sex selective abortion in India?

Back 39

a. Loss of female autonomy
b. Devaluation of women
c. Long term gender imbalances
d. Increased pressure to conform
e. Health

Front 40

40. Recreate the slippery slope argument about abortion law in the US that Moazam discusses and then explain whether (and why) it is or isn’t relevant to the Indian context.

Back 40

a. Outlawing SSA was lobbied by feminists in India
b. Feminists in the US criticize this because it’s a reality in the US
c. Legal reality is different in India
d. Such a law is justifiable in India because the state to interfere with individual behavior in India is seen as normal

Front 41

41. What are the differences between the two Roman Catholic arguments against using reproductive technology that were presented by Lauritzen?

Back 41

a. A person is a unity of body & soul
b. Any acceptable RT must recognize and respect this totality
c. RT almost always fails to treat persons as more than bodies
d. RT is almost always wrong
This argument focuses on valuing the human body as well as the soul
a. Unlike other animals, humans have consciousness and intentionality
b. Because of this human behavior is subject to natural/moral issues
c. Human sexual activity is okay only in the context of a loving, monogamous, heterosexual marriage for the purpose of procreation
d. Since some forms of RT divide sex from this context, they are wrong
This argument focuses on babies only being made in loving, monogamous relationships by two heterosexual individuals that are married

Front 42

42. What are two ways in which feminists and Roman Catholics are the same when it comes to their beliefs about reproductive technology? What are two ways the positions are different?

Back 42

Similar:
Both are opposed to RT
Bad consequences are at the heart of both views

Different:
Feminists focuses on women’s body VS. Roman Catholic focuses on fetus’s body
Feminists (not one person in charge) VS. Roman Catholic (ruled by men, requirements to be in religion)

Front 43

43. Give an example of a situation in which you did a supererogatory action and explain what made that action supererogatory.

Back 43

?

Front 44

44. What is a case in which you freely made a choice, but you made it under conditions that you didn’t accept and couldn’t change?

Back 44

Getting my car towed when it wouldn’t start, I didn’t accept that my car was broken, but I couldn’t change it and had to make the choice to get it towed so I could get it fixed

Front 45

45. What is Elliott talking about when he refers to “human guinea pigs”?

Back 45

Subjects that participate in med. Research and get paid to test things like new drugs

Front 46

46. What are the two biggest risks to human research subjects under the current system, according to Elliott?

Back 46

a. Safety
b. Low wage

Front 47

47. Explain the biomedical party line (as described by DeGrazia) on non-human animal research and how you know that it is the party line.

Back 47

Research on NHA is necessary for medical progress and human health
Human health is very important
Such research is morally justified
Those who disagree are irrational/antiscience

Front 48

48. Describe three values that are central to political conservatism.

Back 48

a. Able to take care of oneself & individual responsibility for others
b. Prevent irresponsible free-riding
c. Alleviating inefficiency, waste, weakness
d. Regulation is inefficient & thus bad
e. Entrepreneurship

Front 49

49. Compare/contrast two politically conservative arguments for universal access to health care.

Back 49

a. Free-riding is bad
b. When health insurance is voluntary some people will choose not to be covered
c. Of those people, some will seek & receive care they can’t afford (vicious cycle)
d. In such cases others cover that cost
e. If health coverage were universal and mandatory there would be no free-riding b/c people would have to pay their fair share
f. So mandatory universal health insurance is preferable as a way to eliminate free-riding

a. Individual responsibility & self-care are good
b. W/O health care people lack the ability to care for themselves in other/more sophisticated domains
c. Making healthcare available to all increases people’s ability to self-care in a variety of important ways

Front 50

50. Why do YOU think political conservatives in the US tend not to support universal access to health care?

Back 50

Regulating people to have health insurance is against what political conservatives believe

Front 51

51. What is Dwyer’s two-part response to the claim that people who have immigrated illegally are free-riders and thus should not be provided with publicly funded health care?

Back 51

Healthcare and being morally illegal don’t correlate

Part 1: Professional ethics
Part 2: Social Responsibility
Members of the community in several ways – we benefit (work done, taxes paid, friends, neighbors) – we owe some basic care

Front 52

52. What are three reasons relating to professional obligations of health care workers that are sometimes given in support of providing publicly funded health care to people who have immigrated illegally?

Back 52

Professional ethics: Confidentiality, Public Health, An Obligation to treat those in need

Front 53

53. What is anthropocentrism and how is it relevant to the Pierce and Jameton article that we read?

Back 53

Anthropocentrism is believing that the only entities that matter are those that have intrinsic moral worth, humans
So when making decisions about what to do in a medical context all you need to consider are individual humans involved

Front 54

54. Recreate the empirical argument about the sustainability of the current health care system that I recreated in class from the Jameton and Pierce article.

Back 54

?

Front 55

55. List five things that YOU could do to reduce the consumption of health care resources.

Back 55

Live a healthier life
Go to regular doctor appointments and avoid ER visits
Educate/advocate
Follow doctor’s advice the first time
Legislation
Treatment choices
Cut down in other areas

Front 56

56. I suggested in class that environmental factors matter morally to all the ethical debates that we discussed in earlier units of the class. Pick one of the earlier units, and describe a reason why someone might change their mind about the issue because of environmental concern.

Back 56

Abortion the mother being able to choose without judgment
If the mother is unable to provide for the baby or doesn’t want kids, why not allow her to get an abortion because that will use up less environmental resources than for another human being to be born

Front 57

57. List two examples of genetic or pharmacological enhancement practices that are already in use in some people’s everyday lives.

Back 57

Steroids to increase muscle mass
The birth of a second child to aid in the health of the first child

Front 58

58. What does Sandel mean when he says that some bioengineering is collectively self-defeating?

Back 58

People fail to recognize gifts – it becomes out of control, merit gratitude, diminished humility & solidarity

Front 59

59. Explain Sara Goering’s discussion of deafness.

Back 59

The deaf individual may experience disadvantages in a hearing world but the same might not be true for the hearing person in a deaf world

Front 60

60. What is the goal of Goering’s article? How does she attempt to achieve it?

Back 60

Her goal is to agree on principles to govern our society using what was proposed by Rawls, using the basic rules of justice that would achieve fairness for all of society