education

Is a depressed person competent to decide whether to commit suicide? ASSESSING NONMORAL PREMISES Sometimes the sticking point in a moral argument is not a moral premise but a nonmoral one—a claim about a nonmoral state of affairs. Often people on both sides of a dispute may agree on a moral prin- ciple but differ […]

Does capital punishment deter crime? ASSESSING NONMORAL PREMISES Sometimes the sticking point in a moral argument is not a moral premise but a nonmoral one—a claim about a nonmoral state of affairs. Often people on both sides of a dispute may agree on a moral prin- ciple but differ dramatically on the nonmoral facts. Usually

Does pornography cause people to commit sex crimes? ASSESSING NONMORAL PREMISES Sometimes the sticking point in a moral argument is not a moral premise but a nonmoral one—a claim about a nonmoral state of affairs. Often people on both sides of a dispute may agree on a moral prin- ciple but differ dramatically on the

ASSESSING NONMORAL PREMISESASSESSING NONMORAL PREMISES Sometimes the sticking point in a moral argument is not a moral premise but a nonmoral one—a claim about a nonmoral state of affairs. Often people on both sides of a dispute may agree on a moral prin- ciple but differ dramatically on the nonmoral facts. Usually these facts concern

Is it wrong to kill a person in wartime? Is Premise 1 true? It is at least dubious, because counterexamples abound in which the principle seems false. Is it wrong to kill one person to save a hundred? Is it wrong to kill a person in self- defense? Is it wrong to kill a person

Is it wrong to kill a person in self- defense? Is Premise 1 true? It is at least dubious, because counterexamples abound in which the principle seems false. Is it wrong to kill one person to save a hundred? Is it wrong to kill a person in self- defense? Is it wrong to kill a

Is it wrong to kill one person to save a hundred? Is Premise 1 true? It is at least dubious, because counterexamples abound in which the principle seems false. Is it wrong to kill one person to save a hundred? Is it wrong to kill a person in self- defense? Is it wrong to kill

TESTING MORAL PREMISES But how can we evaluate moral premises? After all, we cannot check them by consulting a scientific study or opinion poll as we might when examin- ing nonmoral premises. Usually the best approach is to use counterexamples. If we want to test a universal generalization such as “All dogs have tails,” we

What premise can we add that will be plausible and fitting and make the argu- ment valid? This premise will do: “Administering a punishment to criminals that does not deter crime is immoral.” The argument then becomes: 1. Administering a punishment to criminals that does not deter crime is immoral. 2. The use of capital

A nonmoral premise is also necessary in a moral argument. Why exactly? A nonmoral premise is also necessary in a moral argument. Why exactly? Recall that the conclusion of a typical moral argument is a moral judgment, or claim, about a particular kind of action. The moral premise is a general moral principle, or standard,