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The Ethical Theories Of Ethical Subjectivism, Utilitarianism, And Deontological Ethics

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Introduction Using The Philosopher’s Way by John Chaffee, I will explain the ethical theories of ethical subjectivism, utilitarianism, and Deontological ethics. Secondly, I will summarize the main points of my article and then act in response using the three ethical theories previously listed. I will also explain which ethical theory best represents the article. Then, I will provide reasoning as to why stem-cell research is important; and lastly, I will offer two open-ended questions. Defined Ethical Theories All the ethical theories are going to be defined using The Philosopher’s Way by John Chaffee. Chaffee defines ethical subjectivism as, “The view that the ultimate moral authority is the individual or the ‘subject’” (386). Next, …show more content…

Meanwhile, other scientists have been working on “somatic nuclear transfer” which means the nucleus is taken out of a human egg and is substituted with the nucleus of an adult cell. Scientists are looking to get pluripotent stem-cells from this experiment. Pluripotent stem-cells are ones that can grow into many kinds of human tissues. Although there were some achievements using somatic nuclear transfer, it took many eggs. The author argues that scientists should not be restricted from research that will significantly decrease human suffering and is “scientifically useful.” Article Response I agree with the author in regards to using stem-cell research to decrease human suffering. The idea that human suffering will be decreased is directly related to utilitarianism. If utilitarianism is applied to stem-cell research, there would be no reason not to use embryos if it means that there is less suffering for the greatest number of people. Stem-cell research would then, and only then, be considered ethical. The problem is determining if most people would need stem-cells for medical issues. If only fifty percent of people find stem-cells useful, utilitarianism would not apply, therefore, the ethical issues still stand. Opposed to utilitarianism, a subjectivist would argue that the individual decides whether something is ethical or not based on how they feel. If a subjectivist found that using an embryo was ethical because it could potentially fix the

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