What Is Sophie's Choices

In the article "A Defense of Abortion" Judith Jarvis Thomson argues that abortion is morally permissible even if the fetus is considered a person. In this paper I will give a fairly detailed description of Thomson main arguments for abortion. In particular I will take a close look at her famous "violinist" argument. Following will be objections to the argumentative story focused on the reasoning that one person's right to life outweighs another person's right to autonomy. Then appropriate responses to these objections. Concluding the paper I will argue that Thomson's "violinist" argument supporting the idea of a mother's right to autonomy outweighing a fetus' right to life does not make abortion permissible.

In this paper I will explain how Act Utilitarianism, pure Rule Utilitarianism, and pseudo-Rule Utilitarianism would differ in their reasoning regarding the case of Al and Betty. With each method of reasoning, I evaluate the situation without background or moral assumptions of each character, and then separately with the assumption that while Al was away Betty became chronically ill and has one day left to live.

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

To apply utilitarianism to this ethical controversy one has to evaluate which option would benefit society

The justness and morality of abortion has long been a topic of contention in the United States. In the article ‘A Defense of Abortion’ Thomson argues that abortion is morally permissible in certain circumstances even if that fetus has a right to life. This essay will serve to lay out the positions that Judith Jarvis Thomson’s article takes in the defense of abortion in certain circumstances. I will present an argument that agrees with Thomson and further justifies abortion in cases that deal with pregnancies that are a result of rape, failed contraceptives, and in procedures that are recommended to save the life of the mother.

In this bibliography, Julia Driver approaches the reader with the philosophy of utilitarianism, she also describes to us about how the traditional utilitarian philosophers Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill would describe utilitarianism to be identified with what is good, bad, and pleasurable. Julia Driver has been widely recognized for her work in philosophical ethics, she has received young scholar awards from Cornell’s University programs in philosophy. I will use Julia’s views, and thoughts to help sustain my argument, that the utilitarian approach provokes moral assessment and ethical decision-making. Velasquez, Manuel, Claire Andre, Thomas Shanks, and Michael Meyer. " Calculating Consequences: The Utilitarian Approach to Ethics."

In Bernard Williams “Utilitarianism & Integrity” he provided us with two different scenarios in which two people find themselves in tricky situations in regard to what the correct action

In a similar vein, utilitarians might further argue that, not only does the calculation work out to favor the one death over the two deaths, but that Amy and Bianca’s parents have a moral obligation to save only Amy’s life. Because of the consequentialist nature of utilitarianism,

In Classical Act Utilitarianism, because actions that produce as much utility as any other are obligatory, the physician is obligated to end Janice’s life. This ultimate conclusion is incredibly strong—too strong perhaps for some to conclude that Act Utilitarianism came up with the right verdict. An alternative is Rule Consequentialism.

That gives you a privilege, a choice”, he said. Tormented by the choice she began to sob in tears. As the doctor yelled at her to choose or both of her children were going to die. She finally yelled, “Take the baby!” and they took her daughter away. Sophie being put in a difficult situation, to choose between which one of her kids was going to die makes her lose her moral understanding. She knows what the right thing to do is, but is very difficult to keep her moral values when she is being forced to give up her rights. During Sophie’s encounter she did not think about her moral values or religion. In Sophie’s story the doctor quotes, “ So you believe in Christ the Redeemer?” “Did he not say, ‘Suffer the little children to come unto me’?” I think this is where the divine command theory comes into play. The doctor believed god intended for children to suffer as well as other humans. If god does exist he is may not be commanding us to do any of these awful things. If I was in Sophie’s situation or any frightening situation, I would not be able to choose neither of my

The topic of abortion remains one of the most contentious issue in today’s society. It is undoubtedly a complex issue that merits discussion and discourse. Abortion can generally be defined as the deliberate termination of an unborn human embryo or foetus. Between 2010 and 2014, an estimated 56 million induced abortions occurred each year worldwide (Sedgh et al., 2016). While some might see abortion as morally defensible for the doctor to perform, there are nonetheless some who think otherwise; that it is morally indefensible. Due to this major disagreement, an attempt will be made to provide a case for why it is morally indefensible for a doctor to perform an abortion for a woman. This will be defended by the following syllogism: it is wrong to kill

Consequentialist arguments are always open to the objection that the worse consequences may occur, and that another course of action may have a better outcome, but the foreseeable short-term consequences of a triage policy or similar are repugnant. To let our obligations be determined by intuition is not a morally defensible stance and despite its appeal, according we are actually able to satisfy both instinctive and ethical obligations.

Utilitarianism is a philosophical theory centered around the idea that righteousness of one’s actions can only be determined by the goodness or badness of the consequences (Smart, 2006). The short story The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas provides an account of a fictional utopia built upon the suffering of a single child, and is often used to explore the ideas of Utilitarianism. The story probes the idea of Utilitarianism and sheds light on both positive and negative implications. The author begs the reader to make his own decision regarding the fictional dilemma, and in doing so one can’t help but think about the non-fictional world we live in. It is no secret that our first world way of living is built upon obtaining goods and labor

After Reading and reviewing Singer's article, I began to analyze my own way of thinking. What would I do if I had to choose between a car and a child’s life? Would I doom a child to organ harvesters for money? Most would save the child’s life without much hesitation, but for what reason would we let such an opportunity pass? Because of our morals, because we have a “conscious”, or maybe because it was the “right” thing to do?

As humans, we encounter sometimes in life with the most unexpected circumstances where we have to take into consideration what the best decision is for that matter. Luckily, we are built with the ability to pause a moment and think wisely about our choices. In the fetal abnormality case study, Jessica, Marco, Maria, and Dr. Wilson each have varying opinions on what course of action to consider based on these different theories of moral status.