Abortion and What we Owe to Persons
So a fetus has the same rights as a person... so what?
For the last class we saw that Don Marquis argues that from the moment of conception, killing an embryo or fetus is "morally on a par" with killing an adult human being. In his article, he takes for granted that whether abortion is permissible hangs on whether this is so. Hence, he concludes (implicitly) that abortion is rarely if ever permissible - after all, it is rarely if ever permissible to kill an adult human being.
But Marquis never argues for this linking premise - the idea that, as he puts it in paragraph 2 of his article, "is shared by many of the most insightful and careful writers on the ethics of abortion". Judith Jarvis Thomson's article, "In Defense of Abortion", argues that this assumption is false. The fact that many insightful and careful writers have assumed that it is true is not evidence that it is true - that is the fallacy sometimes called the fallacy of appeal to authority. So we need to look for arguments for whether this premise is true. Thomson argues that it is not true.
Judith Jarvis Thomson
Judith Jarvis Thomson is a particularly distinguished philosopher who taught for many years in the philosophy department at MIT, and passed away just this winter. Later in the semester, we will read another important article by Thomson (no 'p' - be careful when you write about her) about the ethics of self-defense, so watch out when you read this article to see what, if anything, the ethics of abortion has to do with the ethics of self-defense. This is Thomson's portrait from a famous series of portraits of philosophers by the photographer Steve Pyke (it's one of the images on the front cover of his second volume of philosopher portraits):
A Defense of Abortion
The main reading for this class is here: A Defense of Abortion. Make sure that you set aside plenty of time to read and re-read Thomson's article, because it is full of arguments using colorful examples to make different points, and you will miss some of the important ones on the first pass. (When you first open the file, pay attention to the journal, issue, and year in which it was published, and ask yourself if those are familiar from anywhere.)
There are many colorful examples in Thomson's article. As you read, make sure that you understand what is important about each of these examples (sometimes she uses the same example to make more than one point): Oak tree; Famous violinist; Tiny house; People seeds; Jones and Smith's coat; Henry Fonda's cool touch upon her brow; The two brothers with chocolates.
We will spend another whole class thinking more about some of the big issues raised by this rich and famous article - especially focusing on the issues raised by the 'people seeds' example. So if that part is confusing, don't worry too much about it. But try hard to understand the points behind the other key examples.