Responding to Simkulet’s objections to the two tragedies argument

2019 ◽  
Vol 46 (3) ◽  
pp. 223-224
Author(s):  
Henrik Friberg-Fernros

The two tragedies argument (2TA) has been raised as a response to the argument against abortion from spontaneous abortion (or miscarriages). According to this argument against the antiabortion position (AAP), miscarriages should be of great concern for proponents of this position since they result in a greater amount of deaths of human beings than induced abortions do. According to critics of AAP, this fact undermines its plausibility, since proponents of the AAP either must try to prevent miscarriages to the same extent as they try to prevent abortions or abandon their opposition to at least some abortions—which are not acceptable options for proponents of APP. The claim of 2TA is that one can differentiate between induced abortion and miscarriages due to the fact that the former involves the act of killing of another human being. This fact adds a tragedy to the tragedy that both abortions and miscarriages result in – the death of a human being – and contributes to justifying the choice of proponents of AAP to prioritise the prevention of abortions rather than miscarriages. In this response, I defend 2TA against criticism that claims that this argument is: (1) inconsistent with the AAP and (2) trivialises the death of the fetus. My claim is that the first line of criticism rests on a misunderstanding of the premises of 2TA while the second line of criticism rests on a disanalogous thought experiment. I therefore conclude that these objections fail.

2016 ◽  
Vol 20 (3) ◽  
pp. 240-257
Author(s):  
Stevens F. Wandmacher ◽  

In his article The Nature, Importance, and Difficulty of Machine Ethics, James H. Moor distinguishes two lines of argument for those who wish to draw a “bright line” between full ethical agents, such as human beings, and “weaker” ethical agents, such as machines whose actions have significant moral ramifications. The first line of argument is that only full ethical agents are agents at all. The second is that no machine could have the presumed features necessary for ethical agency. This paper shows why Moor is mistaken in his refutation of the first line of argument; it also makes a positive case that “weaker” ethical agents are not agents at all. This positive case, however, allows Moor’s rejection of the second line of argument to stand: allowing that there could be moral machines, but that these machines would have to be full moral agents and not merely something that models moral behavior or can be used in morally charged ways.


2019 ◽  
Vol 45 (5) ◽  
pp. 304-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
William Simkulet

Opposition to induced abortion rests on the belief that fetuses have a moral status comparable to beings like us, and that the loss of such a life is tragic. Antiabortion, or pro-life, theorists argue that (1) it is wrong to induce abortion and (2) it is wrong to allow others to perform induced abortion. However, evidence suggests that spontaneous abortion kills far more fetuses than induced abortion, and critics argue that most pro-life theorists neglect the threat of spontaneous abortion and ought to do more to prevent it. Friberg-Fernros contends such an obligation would be implausibly strong, arguing that induced abortions are far worse than spontaneous abortions because while both involve the tragedy of the death of the fetus, induced abortion involves a second tragedy—one person killing another. I argue this two tragedies argument fails to explain what is morally relevant about induced abortion.


2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Lisha Shen ◽  
Whenshuai Xu ◽  
Jinsong Gao ◽  
Jun Wang ◽  
Jiannan Huang ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Lymphangioleiomyomatosis (LAM) is a rare disease that almost exclusively affects women of reproductive age. Patients are warned of the increased risks if they become pregnant. However, information on pregnancy in patients after the diagnosis of LAM is limited. Methods Patients were collected from the LAM registry study at Peking Union Medical College Hospital, Beijing, China. Patients with a history of pregnancy after the diagnosis of LAM were included. Medical records were reviewed, and baseline information and data during and after pregnancy were collected in May 2018. Results Thirty patients with a total of 34 pregnancies after the diagnosis of LAM were included. Livebirth, spontaneous abortion and induced abortion occurred in 10, 6 and 18 pregnancies, respectively. Sirolimus treatment was common (17/34). A total of 6/10, 5/6, and 6/18 patients with livebirths, spontaneous abortions, and induced abortions respectively, had a history of sirolimus treatment. Ten pregnancies (29.4%) had LAM-associated complications during pregnancy, including the exacerbation of dyspnea in 7 patients, pneumothorax in 3 patients (2 resulting in induced abortion and 1 successful parturition), and spontaneous bleeding of renal angiomyolipomas in 2 patients (both having successful parturition). No chylothorax was found during pregnancy. There were six pregnancies in six patients (17.6%) who had a history of livebirth after sirolimus treatment for LAM (all having successful parturition and healthy infants); two of these patients reported exacerbated dyspnea after parturition compared with before pregnancy. Conclusions Patients with LAM, especially those taking sirolimus before pregnancy, were at a higher risk of spontaneous abortion. Complications such as pneumothorax, bleeding of renal angiomyolipoma, and exacerbated dyspnea during pregnancy were common. In patients without spontaneous abortion, sirolimus discontinuation before or during pregnancy did not lead to increased adverse neonatal outcomes.


2018 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 233-249 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Bonetto ◽  
Fabien Girandola ◽  
Grégory Lo Monaco

Abstract. This contribution consists of a critical review of the literature about the articulation of two traditionally separated theoretical fields: social representations and commitment. Besides consulting various works and communications, a bibliographic search was carried out (between February and December, 2016) on various databases using the keywords “commitment” and “social representation,” in the singular and in the plural, in French and in English. Articles published in English or in French, that explicitly made reference to both terms, were included. The relations between commitment and social representations are approached according to two approaches or complementary lines. The first line follows the role of commitment in the representational dynamics: how can commitment transform the representations? This articulation gathers most of the work on the topic. The second line envisages the social representations as determinants of commitment procedures: how can these representations influence the effects of commitment procedures? This literature review will identify unexploited tracks, as well as research perspectives for both areas of research.


2010 ◽  
Vol 01 (06) ◽  
pp. 282-282
Author(s):  
Birgit-Kristin Pohlmann
Keyword(s):  

Bislang steht für Patienten mit metastasiertem kastrationsresistentem Prostatakarzinom (mCRPC), die auf die Standard-First-line-Chemotherapie mit Docetaxel nicht mehr adäquat ansprechen, keine Evidenz-basierte Therapieoption zur Verfügung. Große Hoffnungen verbinden sich daher mit Cabazitaxel, einer neuen Substanz, die diesen Patienten noch einmal die Chance auf eine Überlebenszeitverlängerung bietet. In den USA ist Cabazitaxel bereits für die Second-line-Behandlung beim mCRPC nach Docetaxel-Versagen zugelassen. In Europa ist die Zulassung für diese Indikation bean-tragt.


2011 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-85 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nora S. Eggen

In the Qur'an we find different concepts of trust situated within different ethical discourses. A rather unambiguous ethico-religious discourse of the trust relationship between the believer and God can be seen embodied in conceptions of tawakkul. God is the absolute wakīl, the guardian, trustee or protector. Consequently He is the only holder of an all-encompassing trusteeship, and the normative claim upon the human being is to trust God unconditionally. There are however other, more polyvalent, conceptions of trust. The main discussion in this article evolves around the conceptions of trust as expressed in the polysemic notion of amāna, involving both trust relationships between God and man and inter-human trust relationships. This concept of trust involves both trusting and being trusted, although the strongest and most explicit normative claim put forward is on being trustworthy in terms of social ethics as well as in ethico-religious discourse. However, ‘trusting’ when it comes to fellow human beings is, as we shall see, framed in the Qur'an in less absolute terms, and conditioned by circumstantial factors; the Qur'anic antithesis to social trust is primarily betrayal, ‘khiyāna’, rather than mistrust.


2016 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
pp. 182-188
Author(s):  
Eva Nurhaeny

This essay discusses based on Qur’anic value and character education. In gobalization era, it has great impact on young behaviour change such as fighting, free sex, drug and other delinquencies. The occurred result is serious enough and it cannot be assumed just as a simple matter again, mainly that the subjects and the victim are young people whose have professions as students. The fact indicates that education world has to give an important role toward preventing national moral decadency in the effort of preparing the better future young generation. In this regard, we are aware that the education goal, basically, is to build better morality of human being or in another term is to “humanize the human being”. An idea regarding the significance of character education was appeared as a given solution in answering the morality problem in Indonesian education world. Character education is part of value education. That why, looking for the character education concept has been very urgent in the effort of preparing excellent, faithful, professional and personalized leaner as being asked by the education goal. The essence of characterized behavior actually is the psychological totality form which includes the whole human individual potency of cognitive, affective and psycho-motoric aspects, and also socio-cultural totality function in the context of interaction with God, him or herself, other human beings and the environment in his or her long life. Furthermore, in Qur’an’s teaching, the figure of the Messenger Peace be upon him (PBUH) is viewed as “the model human being”. In this context, the concept of Qur’anic charactereducation can be found through three moral dimensions that should be actualized in human being personality. They are the morality toward Allah (spiritual quotient/ intelligence), the morality toward our self (emotional quotient) and the morality toward Allah’s creatures, human being and environment (social quotient). Then, school should make the Holy Qur’an as the foundation of character education’s implementation whereas the implementation form in the school can be developed through intra-curricular, extra-curricular or personality and school culture development.


2014 ◽  
Vol 1 (5) ◽  
pp. 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gitali Choudhury

Education is the backbone of a civilized society. Values have an important role in education system of any society. Most important thing is that, education should be based on some core values of human being like truthfulness, honesty, justice, good behavior etc. Only this can help a society to maintain a peaceful atmosphere. As all human beings are social animals, so this is the duty of every human being to obey their social responsibility. Mahamana Malaviyaji is one of those great personalities who felt his social responsibility very well and established Banaras Hindu University to bring people out from the mode of ignorance. He values our Indian culture and tradition, which is based on Bhagavat Gita and Srimad Bhagavatam. His genuine effort was to build the character of new generations, so that they can be a good citizen of the country and thus can serve the country. This paper intends to focus on Mahamana’s practical thoughts and applications to contribute to the value-based education system.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
José Luis Sepúlveda Ferriz

Freedom and Justice have always been challenged. Since the most remote times, and in the most varied circumstances of places and people, human beings have tried to clarify and put into practice these two controversial concepts. Freedom and Justice, in effect, are words, but also dreams, desires and practices that, not being imperfect, are less sublime and ambitious. Reflecting on them on the basis of an ethics of development and socioenvironmental sustainability is still a great challenge in our contemporaneity. This book is born from the need that we all have to reflect, understand what our role is in relation to the OTHER, understood as the other as Environment. Doing this from such disparate areas and at the same time as current as Economics, Philosophy and Ecology, is still a great opportunity to discuss complexity, transdisciplinarity and the inclusion of diverse themes, but which all converge in the Human Being and its relationship with the world. Endowing human beings with Freedom and a sense of Justice means RESPONSIBILITY. To be free and to want a better and fairer world is to endow our existence with meaning and meaning. Agency, autonomy, functioning, dignity, rights, are capacities that must be leveraged individually and collectively for authentic development to exist. Development as Freedom is a valid proposal for thinking about a socio-environmental rationality that interferes in the controversial relations between economics, ethics and the environment.


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