Friday, September 4, 2015
Prompt
Resolved: A just society ought to presume consent for organ
procurement from the deceased.
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Freedom
Treatises on Government by John Locke
◦ Government is limited. Rulers are elected by the people (popular
sovereignty). Rulers rule by consent of the governed.
The Social Contract by Jean-Jacques Rousseau
◦ "man is born free, but he is everywhere in chains,"
◦ People make a contract with the government and each other to preserve
their freedom. One person rules, but keeps in mind what is best for all
people.
The Spirit of Laws by Charles Montesquieu
◦ Argues for a constitutional system of government and the separation of
powers, the ending of slavery, the preservation of civil liberties and the law.
◦ Political institutions ought to reflect the social and geographical aspects of
each community
Safety
Leviathan by Thomas Hobbes
◦ A commonwealth is ruled by a sovereign
power responsible for protecting the
security of the commonwealth and
granted absolute authority to ensure the
common defense.
◦ When safety is at risk, liberty is usually
curtailed.
Justice
A Theory of Justice by John Rawls
◦ A society is in some sense an agreement
among all those within that society.
◦ One, that each person should have equal
rights to the most extensive liberties
consistent with other people enjoying the
same liberties; and two, that inequalities
should be arranged so that they would be
to everyone’s advantage and arranged so
that no one person would be blocked from
occupying any position.
◦ “Principles of justice chosen behind a veil
of ignorance.”
Individualism
“Self Reliance” by Ralph Waldo Emerson
◦ "Do not seek outside yourself“
◦ Stress the necessity of relying on oneself for
knowledge and guidance.
“Civil Disobedience” by Thoreau
◦ The need to prioritize one's conscience over the
dictates of laws.
Wealth of Nations by Adam Smith
◦ Free enterprise is based on individualism
Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal by Ayn Rand
◦ Self-interest is the surest guide to societal well-being
Community
The New Golden Rule by Amitai Etzioni
◦ Human beings are social animals and the
value of community is unduly eroded by an
exclusive focus on the individual
Rights Talk: The Impoverishment of Political
Discourse by Mary Ann Glendon
◦ Defense of individual rights is destroying the
possibility of community
Knowledge
On Liberty by John Stuart Mills
◦ Free inquiry, pursuit of the
scientific method, and academic
freedom are important because
of the oppression of scholars in
the past.
◦ “Free marketplace of ideas”
Beauty
The importance of the arts. Are
arts worth being part of society
because they help a society or
do they have value in and of
themselves?
Democracy
On Kingship by Thomas Aquinas
◦ The belief in representative democracy
“Project for a Perpetual Peace” by Immanual
Kant
◦ Argued that the spread of democracy would
spread peace.
Sanctity of Life
Life should be regarded with the
highest value. Any action that
preserves it is a worthy action.
Any action that results in the
loss of human life is an unworthy
action.
Quality of Life
Is the quality of life more important
than the life itself?
Privacy
How absolute is the right to be left
alone?
◦ Abortion?
◦ Right to surf the web without
government surveillance?
◦ Pornography?
◦ Drug dealing?
◦ Terrorist activity?
Self-Actualization
Abraham Maslow
◦ The highest human need is selfactualization.
◦ A commitment to achieving one’s own
mission in life and accepting that
mission as an end in itself.
◦ People achieve intrinsic worth, striving
to realize their potential.
◦ Self-satisfying is the most important
thing?
Utilitarianism
Jeremy Bentham
◦ Values the greatest good for the greatest number
The Principles of Morals and Legislation by John Stuart Mill
◦ What will produce the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest number of
people?
◦ Whatever promotes pleasure and prevents pain.
Situation Ethics by Joseph Fletcher
◦ Examine the situation before saying what action would be right or wrong. Do the
loving thing.
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Only one thing is intrinsically good – love.
The ruling norm of Christian decision is love.
Love and justice are the same.
Love wills the neighbor’s good whether or not we like our neighbor.
The end justifies the means.
Love’s decisons are made only specific situations – they can’t be prescribed ahead of time.
Deontology
The Groundwork of the Metaphysics of
Morals by Kant
◦ Greek for “obligation or duty”
◦ An action must be based on its intrinsic
worth, not based on the consequences of
the act.
◦ What is right needs to be decided prior to
the determination of what is good.
◦ Human beings must never be used as a
means to an end.
Cost-Benefit Analysis
On the Measurement of the
Utility of Public Works by Jules
Deupuit
◦ Based on Economics
◦ A good decision maker weighs
the advantages and
disadvantages of any action
before deciding what’s best.
◦ Consider the direct benefits,
indirect benefits and the
intangible benefits.
◦ Opportunity costs refer tot the
other benefits that are given up
by the choice to take the action
in questions.
◦ Externalities are the negative
byproducts of an action that are
difficult to measure in monetary
terms