Practical Ethics Notes
General..............................................................................................................................3
Tips...............................................................................................................................................3
Abortion.............................................................................................................................3
What is abortion?.........................................................................................................................3
Abortion vs infanticide..................................................................................................................4
What rights are involved?.............................................................................................................4
The right to life................................................................................................................................................4
Right to control over one’s body.....................................................................................................................4
Parental responsibility..................................................................................................................5
How does responsibility for pregnancy affect permissibility?.......................................................5
Modified violinist example-.............................................................................................................................6
Tacit consent....................................................................................................................................................6
Negligence.......................................................................................................................................................6
Doesn’t make it impermissible........................................................................................................................8
The moral status of the foetus......................................................................................................8
Is the foetus a person?....................................................................................................................................8
When do we begin to exist?..........................................................................................................................10
Does our moral status change during the time in which we exist?..............................................................11
Abortion is never morally permissible........................................................................................11
Because the foetus is a person......................................................................................................................11
Even if the foetus is a not a person...............................................................................................................13
Abortion is sometimes morally permissible................................................................................14
Erring permissibility.......................................................................................................................................14
Erring impermissibility...................................................................................................................................16
Under what conditions is abortion morally permissible?.............................................................................18
Abortion is always morally permissible.......................................................................................18
Implications of this view................................................................................................................................18
Carrying pregnancy is an act of beneficence...............................................................................18
What is the most important factor for deciding the morality of abortion?.................................18
Euthanasia.......................................................................................................................19
What is euthanasia?....................................................................................................................19
Active vs passive Euthanasia.......................................................................................................20
Is this distinction morally relevant?..............................................................................................................20
Differing levels of consent...........................................................................................................23
Voluntary euthanasia..................................................................................................................23
Arguments for voluntary euthanasia.............................................................................................................23
Arguments against voluntary euthanasia......................................................................................................24
Non-Voluntary euthanasia..........................................................................................................25
Arguments for non-voluntary euthanasia.....................................................................................................25
, Arguments against non-voluntary euthanasia..............................................................................................26
Involuntary euthanasia...............................................................................................................26
Arguments for involuntary euthanasia.........................................................................................................26
Arguments against involuntary euthanasia...................................................................................................26
Arguments against euthanasia....................................................................................................26
Assisted suicide...........................................................................................................................27
Affirmative Action............................................................................................................28
Defining terms............................................................................................................................28
What is affirmative action?...........................................................................................................................28
Underrepresentation.....................................................................................................................................29
Systematic disadvantage...............................................................................................................................29
Is there a moral difference between hiring and admissions?......................................................29
Should quotas be introduced?....................................................................................................29
Favouring under-represented groups..........................................................................................29
Under what circumstances should we favour underrepresented groups?..................................................29
Morally required............................................................................................................................................30
Morally neutral..............................................................................................................................................32
Morally impermissible...................................................................................................................................33
Favouring systematically disadvantaged groups.........................................................................33
Under what circumstances is it permissible?................................................................................................33
Morally required............................................................................................................................................33
Morally neutral..............................................................................................................................................37
Morally impermissible...................................................................................................................................37
Racial Profiling.................................................................................................................39
What is racial profiling?..............................................................................................................39
Conditions of background injustice.............................................................................................41
Arguments for racial profiling.....................................................................................................41
Utilitarian account.........................................................................................................................................41
Rights-based account....................................................................................................................................42
Self-interest account.....................................................................................................................................43
Fairness account............................................................................................................................................43
Arguments against racial profiling..............................................................................................43
Non-starter arguments..................................................................................................................................43
Utilitarian account.........................................................................................................................................43
Rights-based account....................................................................................................................................45
Fairness account............................................................................................................................................46
Which argument is stronger?......................................................................................................46
Self-defence and other defence........................................................................................46
Why might killing in self-defence be permissible?......................................................................47
Person you kill is a bystander......................................................................................................48
Person you kill will otherwise kill you (but not on purpose)........................................................48
, Permissible if forfeit right not to be killed by you.......................................................................51
Other defence.............................................................................................................................52
Surrogacy.........................................................................................................................52
Definitions..................................................................................................................................52
Parenthood....................................................................................................................................................53
Exploitation....................................................................................................................................................53
Is gestational labour different from other types of labour?........................................................54
Non-commercial surrogacy.........................................................................................................55
Permissible.....................................................................................................................................................55
Impermissible................................................................................................................................................55
Commercial surrogacy is permissible..........................................................................................56
Commercial surrogacy is impermissible......................................................................................57
Is a form of exploitation................................................................................................................................59
General
Practical ethics is not about policy or legislation- about moral permissibility
Methods for approaching issue
o Choose an ethical theory and apply it to particular cases
o Approach each moral problem in isolation without making theoretical decisions in
normative theory
Limitations- sometimes impossible to judge certain cases without more general
moral implications
E.g., the distinction between intending harm and foreseeing harm- e.g.,
bombing where a small number of civilians are harmed seems to matter
whether intention was to attack a military targets rather than the
civilians- difficult to judge the morality of the bombing without taking a
stance on the difference between intending and foreseeing
Tips
Carefully lay out argument
Define all terms
Abortion
Permissibility is not the only question about abortion e.g., Margaret Olivia Little (2003, p.313) ‘It
is one thing to decide that an abortion was permissible quite another to decide that it was
honourable; one thing to decide that an abortion was impermissible, quite another to decide
that it was monstruous’
o Morally permissible but not morally neutral since involves a loss of life which is valuable
in its own right (Little)
What is abortion?
Deliberate termination of a pregnancy before birth resulting in the death of the embryo or
foetus (either by intending or foreseeing)
, Abortion vs infanticide
As medicine advances abortion is more similar to infanticide because the foetus could survive
without the mother
The point of viability outside of the womb shouldn’t affect when we exist or the moral status of
the foetus as the moral status shouldn’t change with technology (McMahan)
o E.g., some babies have been born before 20 weeks and survived but this is before we
would classify them as existence of someone like you or me
o Objection- Seems like moral status of some actions will change with technology and
medical advances e.g., euthanasia
This is because the possible alternatives available to you are different
Reply- If think that abortion is permissible because of reliance on the mother
this doesn’t really change with viability because the only way to remove it from
the mother is to have the abortion and kill it
The alternative is still not available to take the baby out of the mother
and have it no longer rely on the mother without killing it
Only real difference between a foetus and a baby is that the foetus is in the mother’s womb and
the baby isn’t
o Suggests that if abortion past the point of viability is permissible then infanticide should
be too
o Objection- Difference if the burden on the pregnant women, can no longer kill the baby
once the burden can be shared
What rights are involved?
Hohfeldian right- ‘a right with respect to P’s action (performance, omission) as an action which
may affect Q’ (Finnis)
Right to something e.g., body or life
o Implies multiple hohfeldian rights but what these rights are will vary depending on the
circumstances so cannot be analysed in terms of these alone (Finnis)
Objection- Finnis argues that Thomson’s argument rests on ideas of special responsibility rather
than rights
o ‘so in the end most of the argument about rights was a red herring’
The right to life
Right to be given the basic necessities needed to live?
o Objection- Where does one draw the line? What if someone needed extremely
expensive medicine in order to stay alive? Do we have an obligation to provide it? Who
has this obligation? (Thomson)
Right not to be killed by anybody?
Right not to be killed unjustly?
o Thomson suggests that the right to life entails not the right not to be killed but rather
the right not to be killed unjustly
o Implication- If want to argue that abortion is impermissible must show that it is an
unjust killing
Right to control over one’s body
Finnis points out that the right to control over one’s body is just as problematic as the right to
life
o Not ‘everybody seems to be ready to grant’ this right as Thomson claims
General..............................................................................................................................3
Tips...............................................................................................................................................3
Abortion.............................................................................................................................3
What is abortion?.........................................................................................................................3
Abortion vs infanticide..................................................................................................................4
What rights are involved?.............................................................................................................4
The right to life................................................................................................................................................4
Right to control over one’s body.....................................................................................................................4
Parental responsibility..................................................................................................................5
How does responsibility for pregnancy affect permissibility?.......................................................5
Modified violinist example-.............................................................................................................................6
Tacit consent....................................................................................................................................................6
Negligence.......................................................................................................................................................6
Doesn’t make it impermissible........................................................................................................................8
The moral status of the foetus......................................................................................................8
Is the foetus a person?....................................................................................................................................8
When do we begin to exist?..........................................................................................................................10
Does our moral status change during the time in which we exist?..............................................................11
Abortion is never morally permissible........................................................................................11
Because the foetus is a person......................................................................................................................11
Even if the foetus is a not a person...............................................................................................................13
Abortion is sometimes morally permissible................................................................................14
Erring permissibility.......................................................................................................................................14
Erring impermissibility...................................................................................................................................16
Under what conditions is abortion morally permissible?.............................................................................18
Abortion is always morally permissible.......................................................................................18
Implications of this view................................................................................................................................18
Carrying pregnancy is an act of beneficence...............................................................................18
What is the most important factor for deciding the morality of abortion?.................................18
Euthanasia.......................................................................................................................19
What is euthanasia?....................................................................................................................19
Active vs passive Euthanasia.......................................................................................................20
Is this distinction morally relevant?..............................................................................................................20
Differing levels of consent...........................................................................................................23
Voluntary euthanasia..................................................................................................................23
Arguments for voluntary euthanasia.............................................................................................................23
Arguments against voluntary euthanasia......................................................................................................24
Non-Voluntary euthanasia..........................................................................................................25
Arguments for non-voluntary euthanasia.....................................................................................................25
, Arguments against non-voluntary euthanasia..............................................................................................26
Involuntary euthanasia...............................................................................................................26
Arguments for involuntary euthanasia.........................................................................................................26
Arguments against involuntary euthanasia...................................................................................................26
Arguments against euthanasia....................................................................................................26
Assisted suicide...........................................................................................................................27
Affirmative Action............................................................................................................28
Defining terms............................................................................................................................28
What is affirmative action?...........................................................................................................................28
Underrepresentation.....................................................................................................................................29
Systematic disadvantage...............................................................................................................................29
Is there a moral difference between hiring and admissions?......................................................29
Should quotas be introduced?....................................................................................................29
Favouring under-represented groups..........................................................................................29
Under what circumstances should we favour underrepresented groups?..................................................29
Morally required............................................................................................................................................30
Morally neutral..............................................................................................................................................32
Morally impermissible...................................................................................................................................33
Favouring systematically disadvantaged groups.........................................................................33
Under what circumstances is it permissible?................................................................................................33
Morally required............................................................................................................................................33
Morally neutral..............................................................................................................................................37
Morally impermissible...................................................................................................................................37
Racial Profiling.................................................................................................................39
What is racial profiling?..............................................................................................................39
Conditions of background injustice.............................................................................................41
Arguments for racial profiling.....................................................................................................41
Utilitarian account.........................................................................................................................................41
Rights-based account....................................................................................................................................42
Self-interest account.....................................................................................................................................43
Fairness account............................................................................................................................................43
Arguments against racial profiling..............................................................................................43
Non-starter arguments..................................................................................................................................43
Utilitarian account.........................................................................................................................................43
Rights-based account....................................................................................................................................45
Fairness account............................................................................................................................................46
Which argument is stronger?......................................................................................................46
Self-defence and other defence........................................................................................46
Why might killing in self-defence be permissible?......................................................................47
Person you kill is a bystander......................................................................................................48
Person you kill will otherwise kill you (but not on purpose)........................................................48
, Permissible if forfeit right not to be killed by you.......................................................................51
Other defence.............................................................................................................................52
Surrogacy.........................................................................................................................52
Definitions..................................................................................................................................52
Parenthood....................................................................................................................................................53
Exploitation....................................................................................................................................................53
Is gestational labour different from other types of labour?........................................................54
Non-commercial surrogacy.........................................................................................................55
Permissible.....................................................................................................................................................55
Impermissible................................................................................................................................................55
Commercial surrogacy is permissible..........................................................................................56
Commercial surrogacy is impermissible......................................................................................57
Is a form of exploitation................................................................................................................................59
General
Practical ethics is not about policy or legislation- about moral permissibility
Methods for approaching issue
o Choose an ethical theory and apply it to particular cases
o Approach each moral problem in isolation without making theoretical decisions in
normative theory
Limitations- sometimes impossible to judge certain cases without more general
moral implications
E.g., the distinction between intending harm and foreseeing harm- e.g.,
bombing where a small number of civilians are harmed seems to matter
whether intention was to attack a military targets rather than the
civilians- difficult to judge the morality of the bombing without taking a
stance on the difference between intending and foreseeing
Tips
Carefully lay out argument
Define all terms
Abortion
Permissibility is not the only question about abortion e.g., Margaret Olivia Little (2003, p.313) ‘It
is one thing to decide that an abortion was permissible quite another to decide that it was
honourable; one thing to decide that an abortion was impermissible, quite another to decide
that it was monstruous’
o Morally permissible but not morally neutral since involves a loss of life which is valuable
in its own right (Little)
What is abortion?
Deliberate termination of a pregnancy before birth resulting in the death of the embryo or
foetus (either by intending or foreseeing)
, Abortion vs infanticide
As medicine advances abortion is more similar to infanticide because the foetus could survive
without the mother
The point of viability outside of the womb shouldn’t affect when we exist or the moral status of
the foetus as the moral status shouldn’t change with technology (McMahan)
o E.g., some babies have been born before 20 weeks and survived but this is before we
would classify them as existence of someone like you or me
o Objection- Seems like moral status of some actions will change with technology and
medical advances e.g., euthanasia
This is because the possible alternatives available to you are different
Reply- If think that abortion is permissible because of reliance on the mother
this doesn’t really change with viability because the only way to remove it from
the mother is to have the abortion and kill it
The alternative is still not available to take the baby out of the mother
and have it no longer rely on the mother without killing it
Only real difference between a foetus and a baby is that the foetus is in the mother’s womb and
the baby isn’t
o Suggests that if abortion past the point of viability is permissible then infanticide should
be too
o Objection- Difference if the burden on the pregnant women, can no longer kill the baby
once the burden can be shared
What rights are involved?
Hohfeldian right- ‘a right with respect to P’s action (performance, omission) as an action which
may affect Q’ (Finnis)
Right to something e.g., body or life
o Implies multiple hohfeldian rights but what these rights are will vary depending on the
circumstances so cannot be analysed in terms of these alone (Finnis)
Objection- Finnis argues that Thomson’s argument rests on ideas of special responsibility rather
than rights
o ‘so in the end most of the argument about rights was a red herring’
The right to life
Right to be given the basic necessities needed to live?
o Objection- Where does one draw the line? What if someone needed extremely
expensive medicine in order to stay alive? Do we have an obligation to provide it? Who
has this obligation? (Thomson)
Right not to be killed by anybody?
Right not to be killed unjustly?
o Thomson suggests that the right to life entails not the right not to be killed but rather
the right not to be killed unjustly
o Implication- If want to argue that abortion is impermissible must show that it is an
unjust killing
Right to control over one’s body
Finnis points out that the right to control over one’s body is just as problematic as the right to
life
o Not ‘everybody seems to be ready to grant’ this right as Thomson claims
