Question 1

Which of the following views is targeted by Judith Thomson's objection that, just as an acorn does not have the same properties as an oak tree, a human fetus need not have the same properties that a mature human adult has?

Accepted Answer

Thomson's objection targets the Potentiality Argument, which argues that the fetus has the potential to become a mature human adult with full moral status. Thomson argues that just as an acorn does not have the same properties as an oak tree, a human fetus need not have the same properties that a mature human adult has. Therefore, the fact that a fetus has the potential to become a mature human adult is not enough to establish its moral status.

Question 2

Which of the following positions is committed to claiming that the fetus has a right to life from conception?

Accepted Answer

Kind Essentialism is the position that claims that the fetus has a right to life from conception. Warren's personhood argument argues that only beings with certain characteristics, such as self-awareness and the ability to communicate, are considered persons and have a right to life. Tooley's Self-Consciousness Requirement also argues that only beings that are self-aware have a right to life. Therefore, the position that is committed to claiming that the fetus has a right to life from conception is A) Kind Essentialism.

Question 3

The possibility of twining before fourteen days of human gestation creates problems for which of the following views?

Accepted Answer

B

Question 4

According to the early-brain-activity argument, abortion is morally forbidden

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to the early-brain-activity argument, abortion is...

Question 5

According to Engaging Bioethics, which of the following positions makes the claim that there is no particular point of development when a human being acquires the right to life if it hasn't already acquired it at conception?

Accepted Answer

The Potentiality Argument claims that there is no particular point of development when a human being acquires the right to life if it hasn't already acquired it at conception.

Question 6

Which position on the moral permissibility of abortion rests on the premise that the property whose loss at life's end implies the loss of a right to life must be the same as the property that confers that right at life's beginning?

Accepted Answer

The answer of Which position on the moral permissibility of...

Question 7

Which of the following best expresses Mary Anne Warren's view on the moral permissibility of abortion? Abortion becomes morally impermissible

Accepted Answer

Mary Anne Warren argues that abortion is morally permissible based on the criteria of personhood, which do not strictly align with any specific type of brain activity. Her view is more focused on characteristics such as consciousness, reasoning, self-motivated activity, the capacity to communicate, and the presence of self-concepts, which do not correspond directly to the options given regarding brain activity.

Question 8

The argument "It is wrong to kill actual Xs; therefore, it is wrong to kill potential Xs" faces which objection?

Accepted Answer

The argument is considered invalid because it commits a logical fallacy by assuming that the moral status of actual entities (Xs) directly applies to potential entities (potential Xs) without providing a valid logical connection between the two.

Question 9

Why is abortion forbidden given Don Marquis's Future-Like-Ours Argument? Because

Accepted Answer

According to Don Marquis's Future-Like-Ours Argument, what makes killing wrong is the fact that it deprives the victim of a future that is valuable to them. Therefore, abortion is forbidden because it deprives the fetus of a future of value.

Question 10

What sort of problem would the Interest View face if it were to say that sentience is necessary for moral standing?

Accepted Answer

The Interest View would face the under-inclusiveness problem if it were to say that sentience is necessary for moral standing because it would exclude non-sentient entities that might be deserving of moral consideration.

Question 11

State the early-brain-activity argument, and raise an objection to it.

Accepted Answer

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Question 12

According to an argument against the moral permissibility of abortion, beings of the species Homo sapiens are rational in the sense of having the capacity or disposition to reason. Identify the positon that advances this argument and evaluate the main objection to it.

Accepted Answer

The answer of According to an argument against the moral...

Question 13

Identify the position subscribing to the following argument and point out a main problem for it: there is no significant difference between a late human fetus and a newborn. Thus if the former doesn't have a right to life, neither does the latter. But, for the same reason, if the newborn doesn't have it, neither does the infant, or the toddler, or the child… or the mature adult. But since this is preposterous, a human organism has the right to life from conception.

Accepted Answer

The answer of Identify the position subscribing to the following...

Question 14

Explain how Michael Tooley's argument for the moral permissibility of abortion makes use of this claim: "An entity cannot be the sort of thing that can desire that a subject of experiences and other mental states exists unless it possess the concept of such a subject. Moreover, an entity cannot desire that it itself continue existing as a subject of experiences unless it believes that it is now such a subject" (1972: 47).

Accepted Answer

The answer of Explain how Michael Tooley's argument for the...

Question 15

What role, if any, do criteria of personhood play in Judith Thomson's Good Samaritan Argument? And what about the Plugged-In Violinist example?

Accepted Answer

The answer of What role, if any, do criteria of...

Quiz 11: Abortion in the Typical Case