Reason & Impartiality
Cheryl M. Biclar
Learning Outcomes
At the end of the class session, the
students should be able to:
1. define reason and impartiality
2. discuss reason and impartiality as
requirements for ethics
3. employ reason and impartiality in coming
up with a decision on a given moral dilemma
Baby
(Bundle of Joy)
Introducing Baby Theresa Ann Campo
Pearson
Anencephaly- a condition where the
cerebrum and the cerebellum of the
brain is missing ; the top of the skull
is also missing
Cerebrum
The cerebrum or cortex is the largest part of
the human brain, associated with higher
brain function such as thought and action.
The cerebral cortex is divided into four
sections, called "lobes": the frontal lobe,
parietal lobe, occipital lobe, and temporal
lobe.
Cerebrum
Cerebellum
Cerebellum also called as little brain is found
below the occipital and temporal lobes
present in cerebral cortex. It is the area that
controls movement, balance and providing
equilibrium. More than 50% of the total
neurons are present in cerebellum which is
used for processing data.
Cerebellum
Case Study
Baby Theresa Campo Pearson was born in Florida in
1992. Although, she has no cerebrum and cerebellum, she
has a brainstem so her autonomic functions such as
breathing and heartbeat are possible. Most anencephalic
babies like her die after a few days. Her story would have
been unremarkable if not for her parents’ unusual request.
Knowing that their baby will not live long, and that, even if
she did survive, she would never be conscious,
Baby Theresa’s parents volunteered her organs for
transplant. They thought her kidneys, liver, heart, lungs and
eyes should go to other children who would benefit from
them. The physicians agreed that this was a good idea.
Thousands of infants need transplants each year, and there
are never enough organs available. Donating her organs
would mean her immediate death. Waiting for a few more
days until she dies naturally would mean the deterioration of
her organs to a point when they would mean it would no
longer be useful for other children.
If you were her parents, would you donate
her organs as early as possible so that it can
still benefit other children? Why or why not?
Brainstorming activity
Form one group for every table, discuss
for 10 minutes what will be your decision.
Choose one member of the group to share
with the class.
How did your group come up with a
decision
regarding Baby Theresa?
Reason & Impartiality
Moral judgments must be backed by the
following:
1.) good reasons
2.) impartial consideration of each individual’s
interests
Reason
- the capacity for consciously making sense of
things, applying logic, establishing and
verifying facts, and changing or justifying
practices, institutions, and beliefs based on
new or existing information.
"So We Need Something Else for Reason to Mean",International Journal of
Philosophical Studies 8: 3, 271 — 295 .
The best reasons may be determined by using
the following arguments:
1.) The Benefits Argument- If we can benefit
someone without harming anyone else, we
ought to do so.
2.)The Argument That We Should Not Use
People as Means- it is wrong to use people as
means to other people’s ends
3.) The Argument from the Wrongness of
Killing- it is wrong to kill one person to save
another
4.) The Argument That We Should Save as
Many as We Can – the more human lives that
can be saved is the better choice
5.) The Argument from the Sanctity of Human
Life- human life is precious regardless of age,
race, social class, or handicap
6.) The Argument from the Wrongness of
Discriminating against the Handicapped-
nobody has the right to decide that one’s life
is worth less than another’s
7.) The Slippery Slope Argument- serves as a
precedent that will encourage others to
decide as to who should live and who should
die
The morally right thing to do, in any
circumstance, is whatever there are the best
reasons for doing.
Impartiality
- each individual’s interests are equally
important; from within the moral point, there
are no privileged persons
Rachels, James. “What is Morality?” Chap.1 in the Elements of Moral
Philosophy, 13-14. 4th ed. New York: Mc Graw- Hill College, 2004.
The Minimum Conception of Morality
Morality is, at the very least, the effort to guide
one’s conduct by reason- that is, to do what
there are the best reasons for doing- while
giving weight to the interests of each
individual who will be affected by what one
does.
Assessment
In August 2000, a young woman from Gozo,
an island in the Mediterranean Sea, discovered
that she was carrying conjoined twins. She gave
birth at St. Mary’s Hospital in Manchester,
England. They were named Mary and Jodie. The
infants were joined at the lower abdomen. There
spines were fused, and they had one heart and one
set of lungs between them. Jodie, the stronger one,
was providing blood for her sister. The doctors said
that if they were not separated within six months,
both would die. The operation to separate, though,
would save Jodie but immediately kill Mary. If you
