Applied Ethics Questions Pick ONE of the question sets belo…
Applied Ethics Questions Pick ONE of the question sets below. Copy and paste that question into the answer box, and answer all parts of that question set. Worth 33% of your exam grade. Question Set A. Tom Regan, “The Case for Animal Rights” According to Utilitarians like Peter Singer, the fundamental harm that humans inflict on animals is the pain and suffering we cause them when we use them for research, food, and entertainment. Tom Regan disagrees. In your own words: Explain what Tom Regan thinks is the fundamental wrong of our treatment of animals. Explain his criticism of Utilitarianism, that is, what does he think is mistaken about the view that it is the pain and suffering that we cause animals that makes our treatment of them wrong? Explain why Regan’s view, but not the Utilitarian’s, is committed to abolishing the various practices around using animals. Do you agree with Regan’s argument? Why or why not? Question Set B. Judith Jarvis Thomson, “A Defense of Abortion” I believe that this article is, at its foundation, an inquiry into the nature of our right to life. In your own words: Describe the Henry Fonda thought experiment so that someone who has not read the article would understand. Explain how Thomson uses that thought experiment to argue against a particular view about what a right to life consists of. Do you think a Social Contract Theorist would agree with Thomson’s argument against that interpretation of what a right to life consists of? Why or why not? Question Set C. Rosalind McDougall, “Parental Virtue…” One criticism of Virtue Ethics is that it does not provide us with clear guidance when we are faced with difficult moral decisions. McDougall’s argument might be seen as an attempt to show that Virtue Theory can provide us with clear guidance. In your own words: Explain why people might think that Virtue Ethics cannot provide us with clear guidance when we are faced with difficult moral decisions / issues. Describe the difficult moral issue that McDougall discusses in her article. Explain, step-by-step, how she utilizes the framework of Virtue Ethics to generate her stance on the ethics of that issue. Do you agree that she has succeeded in showing that Virtue Ethics can give us clear guidance on difficult moral decisions? Why or why not? Question Set D. Cheshire Calhoun, “Common Decency” Calhoun claims that there is a whole set of behaviors, those that fall under the label, ‘common decency’ that “seem to occupy a shadowy territory between the obligatory and the supererogatory.” In your own words: Explain what Cheshire Calhoun means by an ‘act of common decency’. Give an example. What reason(s) does she have for not characterizing acts of common decency as obligatory? What reason(s) does she have for not characterizing them as supererogatory? Do you agree that the existence of acts of common decency highlights a shortcoming of historical moral theories—a shortcoming that could be fixed by adopting an Ethics of Care? Why or why not?