PP217 Lecture 5: PP217 Lecture 5 Morality Winter 2019
Document Summary
What would go on a list of moral beings: humans, law abiding & not law abiding, animals, mammals (higher order animals, used for experimentation (ie. lab rat, fetus. Insects: embryos, plants, ai/robots, cells, single-cell organisms (ie. bacteria) Criteria for moral standing: conscious decision making, potential for reason (capacity, something might be an exception to their species but overall, the species has the capacity to reason. Ie. fetus will gain capacity to reason in the future. Ie. brain-dead had the capacity to reason: suffering (pleasure & pain, feelings/emotions. They have a nucleus with genes needed for development if the environmental factors are just right then we could have an adult with uncontested moral status therefore, embryos should not be destroyed. Reducto ad absurdum: this is a very powerful argumentative technique, using an agreed upon logic standard, we derive a contradiction, absurdity, or just.
