Summary Of The Violinist By Judith J. Thomson

To begin with, Thomson uses a thought experiment about a hypothetical famous violinist, to further her argument that abortion is morally permissible. In this thought experiment, you are kidnapped and unconsciously plugged to a famous violinist so that your kidney can remove toxins from the violinist’s kidney and ultimately save his life. Thomson argues that you are not required to stay plugged to the famous violinist even if unplugging yourself from the violinist would result in his death. Thomson argues that while everyone has the right to life, no one has the right to dictate what happens to another person 's body.

“I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music”. Albert Einstein, not only a physicist but also a violinist said that quote. The violin is a classic instrument, along with the piano which are known as the fathers of classical music. The violin is one where it produces rich, classic, wonderful music. It’s unique sound and the way it entrances ones ear is hypnotic. The origins of the timeless violin are quite unknown but have been narrowed down to a time and place in history.

Second, the author uses her “expanding child” example. “Trapped in a tiny house with a growing child and you are up against a wall, and in a few minutes, you will be crushed, on the other hand the child won’t be crushed. The only thing that will save her life is to kill the child. Is abortion permissible to save the pregnant woman’s life? Because the mother being compared to that of the house, this brings up the idea that the mother should be able to do as she pleases with her body, and that her body carries more significance than the fetus’ right to life. This brings in the argument of a third-party intervention, such as a doctor. If a doctor did not agree to perform an abortion, to save this mother, then the mother would be denied her rights, and the right to decide what is done with her body. If a woman doesn’t have a right to their body, then you should not be unplugged, thus, save the violinists life. This reasoning is concluded with two smart statements, “It seems to me that to treat the matter in this very way (refuse abortion for the mother’s health) is to refuse to grant the very status of person which is so firmly insisted on for the fetus by anti-abortion advocates. (243) and “a fetus who existence is due to rape” has no right to use their mother’s bodies, and aborting them is not depriving them of anything they had a

In Judith A. Thomson’s article, ‘A defense of abortion’ Thomson defends her view that in some cases abortion is morally permissible. She takes this stance even with the premise that fetuses upon the moment of conception are in fact regarded as persons. However one criticism of her argument would be that there is a biological relationship between mother and fetus however there is no biological relationship between you and the violinist. Having this biological relationship therefore entails special responsibility upon the mother however there is no responsibility in the case of the violinist. Thomson argues against those who are opposed to abortion with her violinist thought experiment.

In cases where a mother’s life is in jeopardy, and caused by her pregnancy, Thomson argues that it would not be called murder for the mother to kill the fetus in order for the mother to save her own life (267). Thomson uses the analogous situation of the violinist in order to portray her argument. If it would not be wrong for you

With Thomson’s violinist analogy she shows that although disconnecting him would result in death, it would not be morally incorrect. This argument can be applied to a woman’s pregnancy, suggesting that if you accept the prior statement and can find no reasonable difference between the violinist and the fetus occupying the woman’s body, then you should accept that abortion can be acceptable. Thomson

In the “Violinist Analogy,” Thomson argues that in cases of rape and other ways in which a woman might become pregnant without making the decision to have sex, it is not immoral to have an abortion. She makes this argument through the analogy that you are hooked up to a “famous unconscious violinist” and if you unplug yourself you are causing the death of that violinist. This point works very well in the argument that it seems as though abortion is allowable in cases of rape.

Thomson assumes all fetuses have a right to life, but believes there are exceptions which permit abortions. Exceptions such as the mother’s life being at risk, rape, incest, ignorance of how you become pregnant, and contraceptive failure all in her opinion relieves you of the responsible of pregnancy, deeming it permissible to abort the fetus. Thomson uses a variety of analogies to support her theory, such as waking up one morning connected to a violinist who you are keeping alive by sharing your circulatory system. You did not agree to this, and are told you must stay connected for nine months or the violinist will die. Thomson explains how you were abducted and connected against your own will, similar to a rape victim. Which leads to her conclude it was not of your choosing to be plugged together and so it is your choice to unplug or not. She uses another analogy along the lines of failed contraceptive, stating you put up screens on your windows knowing

Put oneself in place of the body plugged into the violinists. Would you stay plugged in to their body so you may save one human life? It’s only nine months, right? How about a lifetime, would you stay plugged in to their body for the rest of your life just so you can save theirs? The answer is most likely no. Now alter this situation to be a woman that recently became pregnant. You woke up back to back in bed with your lover, only to find later that you are now carrying a small fetus, a fetus that your body must sustain for nine

In this argument it has been established then, that a fetus is a person from the moment of conception. Thompson now introduces her “violinist analogy.” This is a key term in her argument. In this analogy she asks the reader to imagine you wake one morning and find yourself in bed with an unconscious violinist. He has been found to have a fatal kidney ailment, and you alone have the right blood type to save him. You have been kidnapped in the middle of the night, and the violinist’s circulatory system is now plugged into yours. The director of the Hospital is now telling you “Sorry, the Society of Music Lovers did this to you – we would never have permitted it if we had known.” To get unplugged from the violinist will kill him, but in nine months he will be totally recovered from his ailment and you can be safely unplugged from one another. Thompson then asks, “Is it a moral responsibility for the kidnapped person to agree to this situation?” This situation she has concocted is comparable to that of a woman being raped. Pro – lifers say every person has a right to life and that right to life is stronger than the mothers right to decide what happens in her body. Thompson then goes on to say that instead of being plugged to the violinist’s body for nine months – its changed to your whole life. According to the pro –life

In “A Defense of Abortion,” Thomson utilizes several examples and variations thereof to support her claim. Her example of the violinist portrays a scenario where you wake up and find the Society of Music Lovers has kidnapped you and connected you to a transfusion machine, which they connected also to a famous violinist’s circulatory system to keep him alive, all without your consent. Furthermore, Thompson states, the violinist suffers from “a fatal kidney ailment” (Thomson, 353), and “you alone have the right blood type” (Thomson, 353) to support him live and save his life. He only needs your assistance for nine months to filter the poisons from his kidneys and safe his life. After nine months, his recovery will be complete and you can resume your normal life. According to Thomson’s analogy, you have the choice to either remain connected to him for the whole nine months or disconnect yourself from the machine and let the violinist die (Thomson, 351).

The violinist: The argument Thomson tries to make is that a person is not obligated to allow someone to live of their life functions. The scenario he presents, is you were abducted and your organs were connected to the violinist so the violinist can live. You are not morally obligated to stay attached to the violinist even if without you they are dead.

However violinist can only survive if the other person is willing to stay with him for nine months just like a mother need to be willing to carry her baby for nine months. So strangers being kidnapped and attached to violinist without any permission, and women who doesn’t want to carry the baby but still forced to carry it because our society thinks abortion is morally wrong are the equivalent to each other. I think for this situation Thomson could have compared this violinist theory with a woman who got raped and having to carry a baby without her will. I think if we were to tell this violinist story to anyone, most of the responses would support strangers right to unplug the wires because he is not obligated to put on those wire for nine months to save another human being if he doesn’t want to. Yet if we tell the same story using a

The viola is a musical instrument with strings that that look like a big violin. The instruments are made of many pieces of wood which are glued never nailed together. The viola’s sound imitates a tenor voice while the violin makes a higher sound. The cello and bass also make a lower sound. The viola is similar to other members of the violin family in that it has four strings and is played with a bow. The instrument has a collection of more than three octaves, and makes a unique silky sound. The viola was invented in the 1500's. Since the late 1700's it has had a major role in the symphonic and chamber music. Some composers that have written music for the Viola are Richard Strauss, and Sir William Walton (World Book, 2009).

The woman was bound, gagged, and raped. It was more than likely a tragic even that scarred her for life. Rather than helping her heal, hospitals refused to abort the fetus resulting from the rape. The child would have to be in her stomach for nine months, altering the woman’s body and lifestyle for a child that she did not even want. She would be out of work to give birth and recover, which would affect her income. Having a child she hated was unfair because it would always be a reminder of what happened. Just knowing that she had a child in the world that she gave birth to and did not want would be detrimental. In the case of the violinist, it is not her moral obligation to stay connected to the violinist to keep him alive and alter her life as it is not her moral obligation to carry the child to term and give birth to a child she did not assume responsibility for.