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The true meaning of courage
The true meaning of courage
The true meaning of courage
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Human law must always be ordered to the common good which commands all virtuous actions. Any and all virtue can be ordered to either the private or public good. Aquinas provides the example of courage and how courageous acts could either “preserve the political community or [uphold] the rights of one’s friends” (Regan, 63). Law commands courage for the purpose of preserving the political community and upholding the rights of the neighboring men and other like purposes. Since there is no virtue that could not be, in one way or another, ordered to the common good, every virtue is commanded by human law because all law ordered to the common good. By commanding every virtue, human laws do not necessitate every many to have every virtue. Men need …show more content…
Historically, these abortions were performed to save the life of the mother (Aries, “The Politics of Science”). These situations utilize abortion as a means to an end but are not murders. Aquinas would agree to this judgment because “it is natural for everything to keep itself in existence as far as possible...since they have a higher obligation to safeguard their own lives than the life of another” (Regan, 170). Although these therapeutic abortions are employed as a means to an end, they are not always murders. Just as a person who acts moderately in self-defense is not guilty of murder although their actions killed another, a mother who chooses her own life over her child’s is not guilty of murder. In both cases, the higher obligation to save one’s own life is paramount to the life of another. However, if a therapeutic abortion is performed although there are other viable options that would allow both the mother and the fetus to live, the therapeutic abortion is murder. The presence of other viable options makes the therapeutic abortion murder because “it is unlawful to use greater force than necessary to defend one’s life” (Regan, 170). Thus therapeutic abortion is murder in cases where other options are …show more content…
Just as in unintended killings, there are ways in which indirect abortion is and is not murder. Spontaneous abortions, commonly known as miscarriages, are fetal deaths that are not willfully induced. These fetal deaths can occur due to a number of unpreventable genetic disorders and defects within the fetus or even disorders and illnesses of the mother (Dulay, “Spontaneous Abortion”). If such reasons were the cause of the death of the fetus, the spontaneous and indirect abortion is not murder. However, substance abuse of cocaine, drugs, alcohol, and the like also have the potential to induce a spontaneous abortion (Dulay, “Spontaneous Abortion”). Since one ought to avoid such a vice, spontaneous abortions that result from substance abuse are
In “Why Abortion is Immoral” by Don Marquis, Marquis attempts to undermine the belief that anti-abortion arguments and rhetoric are based on religious or dogmatic arguments, and posits that using only ethical arguments, the reader may draw the conclusion that abortion can be equated with murder, or “killing an innocent adult human being” (Marquis 183). Marquis makes it clear that he will not explore the issues of abortions performed after a rape, or when the life of the mother is in danger were she to give birth, and that he is only arguing that an “overwhelming majority of deliberate abortions” are immoral (184).
Don Marquis is a philosopher arguing that any form of abortion is immoral. His original thesis states: In the overwhelming majority of cases, deliberate abortions are seriously immoral. He begins by stating why killing is wrong in three statements. He states, “killing is wrong because it brutalizes the killer, it is a loss to others, and it robs the victim of all the experiences, activities, projects, and enjoyments that would otherwise have constituted one’s future” (68). The first two statements do not address the fetus, but the last statement is very arguable, so Marquis emphasizes his argument on this premise. Depriving anybody of their future has many consequences. Some parts of a person’s future are valued now and some parts could be valued later. Therefore, it is wrong to kill any adult human because it is a loss of future (which has value). He addresses the questions of personhood by stating that fetuses have the potential to be humans. Therefore, killing a fetus is depriving the fetus of having a
Abortion has long been a controversial debate affecting most societies, religion, and especially women. Anti-abortionists and pro-abortionists both propose many arguments against and for abortion. However, the most prominent argument comes from anti-abortionists who believe that “a fetus is a human being, and therefore abortion is murder.” However I agree with both Mary Anne Warren and Judith Jarvis Thompson in that women should have the choice of whether they wish to keep the baby or not. Although the traditional anti-abortion argument is strong, the arguments that both Thompson and Warren provide in their texts have convinced me that abortion is not murder.
Why Abortion is Immoral by Don Marquis is an essay that claims that abortion is morally wrong, and uses one argument in particular to explain why. He argues that many of us would agree that it is wrong to kill a human, and if you believe that then you should also have that view on abortions. If you think killing is wrong then you think all killing is wrong and the persons biological state, whether it is when a person is a fetus, one years old, or thirty years old, makes no difference. He then explains that killing is wrong not only because it is immoral, but wrong because it deprives the victim of life and the enjoyments one would have otherwise experienced; which Marquis believes is the greatest lost one can suffer (Marquis, 189). Given certain circumstances Marquis agrees there are cases where killing is acceptable, but nonetheless it is immoral.
Marquis believes abortion to be extremely immoral. However he mentions that there are exceptions in rare but certain circumstances where abortion is acceptable. We can infer that these instances would include situations that would put the mother or child at serious risk by keeping the fetus. He is frustrated that this idea has received minimal support recently. As a result he wants to influence change in society in hopes of receiving the support and publicity this topic deserves. Marquis’ primary argument stems from the idea of killing in general. He explains it is immoral to kill an adult because it prematurely deprives the human of something they may have valued at the time they were killed, as well as something they may had valued in the future. Although the victim may not realize it at the time of their death, they certainly had a valuable future ahead of them to experience which has been cut short. We are the only ones who can decide what is valuable to them; in this case we value some things more than others, and this concept differs from person to person. For example, in the present I value the life I am given and the opportunity I have to earn my degree at Villanova University while also valuing my future as well knowing that I have a chance to be successful in the future. Although I have not succeeded yet, I still value that opportunity I have and the life I’m capable of achieving through earning a degree. Therefore, he connects this same theory to the life of a fetus. By killing the fetus the result is the same, we are depriving it of its futur...
Caplan, A., & Arp, R. (2014). The deliberately induced abortion of a human pregnancy is not justifiable. Contemporary debates in bioethics (pp. 122). Oxford, West Sussex: Wiley.
The permissibility of abortion has been a crucial topic for debates for many years. People have yet to agree upon a stance on whether abortion is morally just. This country is divided into two groups, believers in a woman’s choice to have an abortion and those who stand for the fetus’s right to live. More commonly these stances are labeled as pro-choice and pro-life. The traditional argument for each side is based upon whether a fetus has a right to life. Complications occur because the qualifications of what gives something a right to life is not agreed upon. The pro-choice argument asserts that only people, not fetuses, have a right to life. The pro-life argument claims that fetuses are human beings and therefore they have a right to life. Philosopher, Judith Jarvis Thomson, rejects this traditional reasoning because the right of the mother is not brought into consideration. Thomson prepares two theses to explain her reasoning for being pro-choice; “A right to life does not entail the right to use your body to stay alive” and “In the majority of cases it is not morally required that you carry a fetus to term.”
Abortion is the untimely and early ending of pregnancy. Thirespondedss can be carried out by the will of an individual or can occur on its own because of any abnormality or disease. Abortion ending due to any abnormal condition is referred as ‘spontaneous abortion or miscarriage.' Abortion, as a term, is specifically used for the ending process of pregnancy by the will of the mother. This process can be carried out in a variety of ways depending upon the gestation period, the condition of the fetus inside and preference of involved mother.
Abortion may appear ethical or unethical depending on various viewpoints and circumstances. The fetus is considered a person and bringing it to term may be unethical as the act is considered as murder. In some situations, the mother may require to terminate a pregnancy for her bodily autonomy (Johnston, 2003). In such positions, the resolution to terminate a pregnancy may be argued as the most ethical choice. The mother is also considered to having a reasonable level of ethical responsibility to the fetus, because she did not take enough precaution to ensure avoiding conception (Cline, 2014). The mother’s ethical responsibility to the fetus may not be enough to deprive her choice of abortion; it...
Abortions can happen in two ways one by accident often called a miscarriage and the second way is often called an induced abortion where the foetus is forced out of the body. A utilitarian would say that if a couple could not raise the child it would be better if they are aborted because it would put less burden in society. Thus when using the utilitarian consequential principle of ethics, we establish a set general morals and rules in which we can apply to every moral question based upon our utilitarian findings. When this is applied to abortion, we can see that abortion is completely ethical entity that provided “the greatest amount of happiness for the greatest amount of people.” (Jeremy Bentham,
A fascination of the human race is discovering how the universe, everyone, and everything came into being. Many scientist and theologians have studied this topic for centuries and looking back at some of the earlier arguments will show key insights in proving Gods existence. One of the best sources we have on the subject of Gods existence in the catholic theologian Saint Thomas Aquinas.
“In Twenty-first Century America, there are two classes of human beings, one protected by constitutional law and the other not. Human beings fully protected by constitutional law are those individuals who have already been born, and are recognized in law as persons. The second group consists of the unborn, which can be defined as the unborn human being from the time of its creation, in or outside of the human body and encompasses all forms of its existence, growth, and development, including zygote, pre-embryo, embryo, and fetus. The law does not recognize these “humans” as persons. Judicial fiat institutionalizes this status of being “separate and unequal.” An unborn human being is doomed unless it is wanted and chosen by its mother to be born alive” (Lugosi 226). Besides a few circumstances, most abortions are morally wrong because they are equivalent to murder, deny the right to life, and brutal.
In question 94 of his On Law, Morality, and Politics, Thomas Aquinas initiates his interpretation of natural law. He defines law as, “an ordinance of reason for the common good by one competent to make it, and promulgated” (10). Here, he suggests law is derived from an act of reason which commands or prohibits. Thus, it compels behavior. It must be rational and ordered to the common good of a community. Throughout On Law, Morality, and Politics, Aquinas analyzes four kinds of law: human, divine, eternal, and natural. Although human law is integral for the order of society, humans require more in order to live virtuous lives. Therefore, natural law is important due to its focus on human beings and their societies, as well as for its interconnected
“All of morals comes down to the virtues.” (Keenan, 142) Keenan asserts that these virtues are the cardinal virtues, consisting of courage, temperance, justice, and prudence, and date back to Aristotle in Ancient Greece. The word cardinal is derived from the root, cardo, meaning hinge. Simply stated, the Christian moral life hinges on the cardinal virtues. Keenan suggests an updating of the cardinal virtues to become justice, fidelity, self-care, and prudence. He provides reasoning for the new virtue list. He defines each virtue with its social implications. For example, individuals should seek to set up society with equal justice for all persons. These descriptions help the Christian understand when the virtues are best applicable to self and/or others. Thomas Aquinas adds three theological virtues to the mix: faith, hope, and charity. Familiar from the thirteenth chapter of I Corinthians, these virtues seek to help Christian theologians through the ages maintain the integrity of the Gospel and continue to make it relevant in the modern world. Keenan recounts Bernard of Clairvaux’s beliefs that cultivating the virtues is a way to assimilate with the humanity of Jesus. (Keenan, 136) According to Aquinas, “Every human action is a moral action.” (Keenan, 142) The purpose of the virtues is to guide Christians, and when the Christian studies and applies the virtues to his life, his actions will demonstrate morality. The Bible heralds in Proverbs 3:32, “Devious people are detestable to the Lord, but the virtuous are his close
Abortions have always been a very controversial topic. Over the years we continue to fight for or against it. One can say that is one of the most talked and argued topic in the United States. An abortion is when a woman terminates her pregnancy before the fetus is viable using various of methods. Some argue that abortions should be illegal and considered murder, while others, from a religious point of view, say that no one has the right to take away the life of a person, in this case the fetus. However, others insist, that abortions are a basic women’s right.