Comments | lhynard: On Hypothetical Situations and Moral Dilemas

lhynard

On Hypothetical Situations and Moral Dilemas

Jul 19, 2005 20:31

Back in college, I took a biomedical ethics course. I figured it would be good for me to take, considering that I am in the life sciences now. I loved the course, and it really challenged my thinking ( Read more... )

life, ethics, children, polls

Comments 21

hmmm, tasty ethics! jeltzz July 19 2005, 17:52:33 UTC

It's because any ethical theory has to hold up to the most extreme case. Which is philosophy's way of forcing re-evaluation: poke as many holes in a theory as you can. Which is subsequently why it's always easier to criticise philosophers than propose your own theories ( ... )

Re: hmmm, tasty ethics! lhynard July 19 2005, 17:55:40 UTC

good points

Have you, by the way, read The Hiding Place by Corrie Ten Boom? She and her sisters hid Jews during the war. Corrie would always lie to keep them hid, whereas, her sister refused to ever lie. In every case, the Jews ended up being kept safe.

Re: hmmm, tasty ethics! jeltzz July 19 2005, 18:01:50 UTC

no, I haven't read it. I would say that I will, but odds are I shall never get around to it. Although that result implies to me that outcomes are not determined solely by our actions: that God accomplishes his will despite as well as because of our morality.

Re: hmmm, tasty ethics! lhynard July 20 2005, 10:08:02 UTC

God accomplishes his will despite as well as because of our morality.

I would agree.

Thread 11

rook July 19 2005, 21:09:43 UTC

Did the course cover Peter Singer (or are you otherwise familiar with his work)?

lhynard July 19 2005, 21:49:03 UTC

The name sounds familiar, but other than that, I am not familiar with it. enlighten me.

rook July 19 2005, 22:11:33 UTC

Australian utilitarian bioethicist who teaches at Princeton (and the cause of a huge media stir at the time of his hiring). Widely both considered the godfather of the animal rights movement and a notorious lightning rod for controversy, primarily due to his positions on euthanasia and infanticide.

lhynard July 20 2005, 07:15:34 UTC

I'm guessing I read some of his stuff either in my biomedical ethics course or my speculative mind course. I wish I still had my old text books to check. Quite honestly, it's been a while, and I even forget the basic tenets of utilitarianism. Is that the ethical system in which the good of the many is what drives morality?

Thread 5

rook July 19 2005, 21:33:06 UTC

Where I think I'm likeliest to depart from others here is in seeing no meaningful distinction between the life of a stranger and the life of a stranger who happens to be an infant.

lhynard July 20 2005, 07:16:10 UTC

I'm not quite sure where that distinction comes from either.

silverrose18 July 20 2005, 07:38:44 UTC

This was hard, but on every one I had to say that I SHOULD choose whatever answer was not my best friend. I came to the conclusion though taht my best friend is saved and would go to heaven, where I don't know that about a stranger. So, that's why I had to choose what I did, but I can't really say for 100% that it's what I would do if it was a real life situation.

lhynard July 20 2005, 09:20:15 UTC

interesting twist I had not thought of considering

niveus2001 July 20 2005, 10:06:03 UTC

I came to the same conclusion as silverrose18. I SHOULD choose the one that is not my best friend.