Solution Manual For Ethics Theory and Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition Andrew Fiala, Barbara MacKin

Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

Solution and Answer Guide Ethics Theory and Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition Andrew Fiala, Barbara MacKinnon 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ..........................................................................................................................1 Review Exercises Solutions .................................................................................................................2

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1.

Is Socrates correct to suggest that it is wrong to return evil for evil and that two wrongs don‘t make a right?

Talking Points: Students should be considering this from a principled perspective: are these claims true and good? Students may want to make connections to what they‘ve learned from parents or religion, which is great. Counter-examples could be considered: such as the justification of violence used in self-defense.

2.

Do you agree with the idea that living well is more important than merely living?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to speculate about what makes life worth living.

They should also be encouraged to imagine circumstances in which life is not worth living.

Counter-examples could be brought up: for instance, the concern about who decides this; or a general prohibition against killing and suicide.

3.

What would you do if you were wrongly convicted of a crime and sentenced to death? Would you try to escape? Do you think Socrates was wise to refuse to escape?

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Talking Points:

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

Students should be encouraged to imagine themselves into such a circumstance. And should be urged to think of the discussion not merely in practical terms (i.e., is it possible to escape and can they get away with it?) but more importantly in moral terms–so that ideas about duty, rights, obligations, and responsibilities are on the table.

4.

What basic principles or virtues guide your thinking about these issues?

Talking Points: Again, students should be encouraged to go beyond practical concerns. Virtues that may be discussed could include: courage, loyalty, honor, integrity, etc. Key principles might include: obedience to the law and authority, self-preservation (at any cost?), and obligations to friends and family.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. Determine whether the following statements about the nature of ethics are true or false. Explain your answers. a. Ethics is the study of why people act in certain ways. b. The solution to moral conflicts and ethical disputes is to accurately describe the way the world actually is. c.

The statement ―Most people believe that cheating is wrong‖ is an ethical evaluation of cheating.

Solution: 1a. True or False (but it depends upon what we mean by ―why‖) 1b. False (factual descriptions are not the same as normative argument) 1c. False (the claim the ―most people‖ believe it does not make it wrong; the majority could be wrong © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

or mistake

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

n).

2. Label the following statements as either normative (N) or descriptive (D). If normative, label each as

ethics (E), aesthetics (A), law (L), religion (R), or custom (C). a. One ought to respect one‘s elders because it is one of God‘s commandments. b. Twice as many people today, as compared to ten years ago, believe that the death penalty is morally justified in some cases. c.

It would be wrong to put an antique chair in a modern room.

d. People do not always do what they believe to be right. e. I ought not to turn left here because the sign says ―No Left Turn.‖ f.

We ought to adopt a universal health insurance policy because everyone has a right to health care.

Solution: 2a. N; R 2b. D 2c. N; A 2d. D 2e. N; L 2f. N; E

3. Discuss the differences between the ideas that ethics is subjective and that it is objective.

Solution: To say that ethics is subjective is to say that our moral judgments are merely matters of opinion. This view © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

risks

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

becoming relativism. Those who maintain that ethics is objective believe that we can know what is true or false with regard to moral judgments.

4. Explain emotivism and intuitionism in ethical theory.

Solution: Emotivists claim that ethics is merely an expression of emotion (such as saying ―yay‖ or ―yuck).

Intuitionists claim that ethical objects (like ―the good‖) can be known through the faculty of moral intuition.

5. Discuss the advantages and disadvantages of using naturalistic explanations in ethics.

Solution: Naturalistic explanations can provide insight into the biological and psychological sources of moral life. But these explanations are merely descriptive. They are unable to provide normative guidance (or else they risk committing the naturalistic fallacy).

6. As they occur in the following statements, label the reasons for the conclusion as appeals to the

motive (M), the act (A), or the consequences (C). a. Although you intended well, what you did was bad because it caused more harm than good. b. We ought always to tell the truth to others because it is right to tell the truth. c.

Although it did turn out badly, you did not want that, and thus you should not be judged harshly for what you caused.

Solution: 6a. C 6b. A 6c. M

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 2: Religion and Global Ethics

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think?..................................................................................................................................... 5 Review Exercises Solutions .......................................................................................................................... 6

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1.

Is there a unifying set of moral rules?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to consider constructing such a list, perhaps by doing some research on codes of ethics, documents such as the UN Declaration, and from religious texts. They should be encouraged to attend to overlap/similarity as well as divergence.

2.

What values would you include as key values in a ―global ethic‖?

Talking Points: Students can be encouraged to construct their own list of global ethical values. They may also be encouraged to consult other lists of ‗global ethics‖ values such as from the Parliament of the World‘s Religions.

3.

Is morality dependent on religious faith? Or can ethical principles be discovered by reason without appealing to religion?

Talking

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Points: This is a

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

difficult question that can be used by instructors as a jumping-off point for Plato‘s Euthyphro.

Students will likely disagree about this, which is okay as long as there is civil discussion of the disagreement. Part of the discussion should include the issue of religious diversity (and/or pluralism, as discussed in the chapter). Students should be encouraged to think about ―which religion?‖ and how can we manage religious diversity.

4.

Are there basic principles that would allow us to ―agree to disagree‖ and coexist despite our diversity?

Talking Points: With this question the instructor might encourage students to think about the value of toleration (discussed in the chapter) as well as basic principles of civility and civil discourse, which presumably are also part of student life, an academic code of conduct, and the norms of discussion in the classroom. Might be a good opportunity for the instructor to discuss how they will manage diversity and discussions of religion in the classroom and in class activities.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. If you could develop a global ethic, what would its basic values be?

Solution: Candidates for shared values of global ethics often include: toleration, hospitality, truthfulness, kindness, justice, moderation, courage, and others. A key to this conversation is trying to understand the degree to which different religions and cultures agree (and disagree) about ethics.

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D

escribe the

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

challenge of developing a global ethical perspective in light of religious and national differences.

Solution: Challenges come from the fact that people disagree about many things. Some religions have one God. Some don‘t. And some people don‘t believe in God. While some pluralists (such as Gandhi) think that there is a convergence of values, others doubt that this is true.

3. What is the history of the idea of universal human rights? How is this history susceptible to the charge that it is Eurocentric?

Solution: The United Nations and other organizations that espouse and defend the idea of universal human rights have attempted to find common ground and overlapping consensus about key values.

But some worry that the values proposed by cosmopolitan and secular systems of value import assumptions that only make sense with a Christian and European worldview. Key authors cited in the history of secularism and cosmopolitanism are often European authors such as Kant and the ancient Greeks. In reply, one might note that non-European thinkers (such as Gandhi and the Dalai Lama) have been actively involved in trying to articulate a shared global ethics. It remains an open question whether the world can achieve consensus that it is not Eurocentric.

4. Explain arguments in favor of the divine command theory of ethics, as well as arguments against that theory. Is it true that if there were no God, then everything would be permitted?

Solution: Arguments about the divine command theory of ethics extend back to Plato‘s Euthyphro. Is good prior to God? Or is God prior to the good? Since Plato, philosophers have often suggested that ethical inquiry can occur independently of theological speculation. But some religious people claim that without God, there would be no ethics. This discussion becomes even more complicated when atheists © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

suggest that

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

there actually is no God.

5. Is the humanistic or secular approach to ethics better than religious approaches to ethics? How so? Is the humanistic or secular approach antagonistic to religion?

Solution: One argument in favor of secular ethics is that it allows diverse religious people to coexist.

The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was created as a way of allowing different Christian denominations to peacefully coexist. So secularism can be in the interest of religious people. But some religious people think that when God is set aside, morality is at risk. It is not always true, however, that secularism and religion are antagonistic to one another.

6. What does Socrates mean when he says in Euthyphro that the holy or pious is holy or pious because it is loved by the gods? Do you agree with his argument?

Solution: In Plato‘s Euthyphro, Socrates raises the question of whether God loves the good because it is good or whether things become good because God loves them. This is a version of the problem of divine command ethics.

7. Are you optimistic about our ability to develop a global ethical consensus across our national and religious differences? Why or why not?

Solution: Some cause for optimism is the fact that institutions such as the United Nations and the Parliament of the World‘s Religions exist and are working to build a global ethical consensus. But despite these efforts, there remain significant differences around the globe.

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D

o you think

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

that all religions are pointing in a similar direction, or are there irreconcilable differences among them?

Solution: Some pluralists (such as Gandhi) suggest that all religions (and nonreligions) basically teach the same thing. But this hopeful pluralistic vision runs aground on the reality of religious conflict and the lack of consensus across the globe about culture, religion, and ethics. Other pluralists will argue that it is naïve to hope for complete agreement. Rather, perhaps the best we can do is find a space for toleration and agree to disagree about our religious and ethical differences.

9. What is the value of love, compassion, and the Golden Rule—is this a religious idea or can nonreligious people affirm it?

Solution: The value of love is central to the idea of the Golden Rule. Pluralists see it as a key value shared by all religions. And as Eleanor Roosevelt suggests, it is a value that can also be shared by nonreligious people—and that may be connected to the idea of human rights.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 3: Ethical Relativism

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 10 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 11

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1.

Are ethical disagreements inevitable given the diversity of culture, religion, and morality?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to speculate or do some research on the challenges of diversity. With the opening vignette in mind, this might involve issues in health care—but also education, policing, and so on. The question of ―inevitability‖ may be understood in terms of descriptive reality of relativism. But students may also want to imagine a future in which there are more (or fewer) disagreements.

2.

Can you imagine some values that could (or should) be shared, even in a case like the one described here?

Talking Points: This question points toward issues discussed in this chapter (and the prior one) in relation to value pluralism. Shared values in the case discussed here might be care for children and a desire for health. There are also issues of patient autonomy and consent.

3.

How important is cultural competency? In health care? In education? In legal structures?

Talking Points: The case under discussion here is a

health-care case. There are other

examples in health care that students could discuss

—for example, disagreements about

vaccines during the

COVID-19 pandemic. Most likely, students will have encountered some

form of discussion or even training in cultural competence in their educational experience

.

They may want to reflect on that, even if they were not aware of it at the time. How has their education reflected this issue? (For example, in communication from schools in multiple languages.)

Similar issues can come up in criminal justice, voting,

and so on.

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4.

I

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

s cultural competency a form of relativism?

Talking Points: The issue to be discussed in the chapter is whether a commitment to cultural competence is really ―relativist‖ or whether it is a nonrelativist affirmation of diversity and respect for cultures (i.e., tolerance). Instructors may want to push students on this question by asking about the degree to which doctors, teachers, and police might insist on some set of values and criticize cultural values that don‘t fit the norm.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. Are there universal, objective moral values? Or are you convinced that relativism is true?

Solution: With this question, students are asked to declare whether they agree with objectivism and moral realism—or whether they agree with metaethical relativism. Students should be using those kinds of concepts in their responses—including also using terminology such as skepticism and nihilism.

2. What is the difference between individual relativism (subjectivism) and social or cultural relativism?

Solution: Individual relativism or subjectivism reduces relativism to an individual level—maybe even a matter of taste. The social or cultural version of relativism locates value in some group. The challenge in thinking about social or cultural relativism is found in defining the group. Could a group of friends or a criminal gang define values in their own terms—and would that be coherent or morally acceptable? Even within subjectivism there is the problem of change—what should an individual do when their values change?

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Wh

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

at is the difference between the descriptive claim that people do differ in their moral beliefs and the metaethical theory of relativism?

Solution: The descriptive claim is empirical—and for the most part true. Different cultures do differ in their values and beliefs. But that empirical fact can be distinguished from the metaethical claim that there are no universal or objective moral values. The metaethical claim requires that we think about the existence, grounding, and knowability of values and moral judgments.

4. Do toleration, open-mindedness, and cultural competence depend

on a commitment to

cultural relativism?

Solution: Some espouse relativism in an effort to be tolerant. They may embrace relativism in an effort to remain open-minded and to avoid ethnocentrism. But tolerance is typically promoted as a nonrelativistic value,

that is, a value that all people should accept, despite cultural difference. One

could ground tolerance in nonrelativistic commitment to something like liberty or respect for autonomy.

5. How would you know whether a moral disagreement was based on a basic difference in moral values or a disagreement about facts? As an example, consider the issue of climate change discussed in the chapter. Are there other examples you can think of?

Solution: Sometimes people disagree about factual claims. Other times they disagree about normative claims. In the climate case discussed here, the two students disagreed about the facts but agreed

that it would be good to improve present conditions and care about future generations.

Other similar examples will be discussed in the second half of the book. For example, with regard to the death penalty there is a factual/empirical question about whether it deters crime—and utilitarians who support the general idea of deterrence (and so agree about moral principles) may disagree about © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

the moral

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

justification of

the death penalty. Or to cite another example, people may agree about the basic

framework of the just war theory

, but disagree about how it is applied given disputes about facts

in a particular war.

6. What is moral realism? How does your understanding about the reality of the external world differ from your intuitions about morality?

Solution: Moral realists claim that moral values are objective and real. Perhaps this means that moral values can be seen, known, or intuited (as in G. E. Moore‘s intuition of the good). But one may suggest that there is a difference between seeing colors and intuiting moral good. Of course, one could be skeptical about the existence of the material world as well. But given the assumption that we have shared access to the empirical, there is still room for doubt about whether there is a shared intuition or knowledge of moral facts.

7. Why might social critics such as feminists be in favor of or against relativism?

Solution: Social critics, such as feminists, may want to avoid judging other cultures in an effort to demonstrate solidarity and support. They may also suspect that the tendency to be judgmental and ethnocentric is a patriarchal tendency. But feminists and other social critics typically want to be able to criticize social formations that they think are unjust or wrong. As Anita Superson points out, feminists need an objective value system that they can use to criticize patriarchy, rape, oppression and so on.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/ Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 4: Egoism, Altruism, and the Social Contract

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think?

1

Review Exercises Solutions

1

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. Is it a good idea that schools and universities promote community service?

Talking Points: Students should consider their own experience of community service.

Did they do it for altruistic reasons, or were they padding their resumes? They should also be encouraged to speculate about why schools and universities think this matters: is it for the public image of the school? Or is there some more altruistic idea behind public service?

2. Is it really altruistic service if it is required?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about the paradoxical possibility of required service. Are there solutions to this? Maybe by requiring it, it eventually develops beyond a requirement to having intrinsic value. Key concepts in this discussion might include the difference between instrumental and intrinsic value.

3. Is it wrong for people to engage in service activities as a way of padding a résumé

?

Talking Points: This may lead students to discuss the question of motivation and intention in ethics, which would be useful. If good outcomes are produced, do the intentions really matter? Students may also want to speculate about other cases in which © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

people

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

do good things for selfish reasons (e.g., in dating, in their families, or at work).

4. Can community service help people learn the value of altruism

even if they are

motivated to participate for egoistic reasons?

Talking Points: Here students may want to think about how altruism is learned

. Is

it innate? Or do we learn it through doing it? It might also be of interest to discuss how community service is used as a punishment (and what this tells us about how we think punishment ought to function).

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. Explain the basic difference between psychological egoism and ethical egoism.

Solution: Psychological egoism is a descriptive theory about our motivations; ethical egoism claims that it is good to be egoistic.

2. Explain how reciprocal altruism is connected to enlightened self-interest.

Solution: Reciprocal altruism involves cooperative activity; self-interested parties may find it in their interest to cooperate.

3. Is psychological egoism true, and what must be shown to prove its truth?

Solution: Students may disagree about the truth of psychological egoism. But they should understand that some empirical approach would be needed to demonstrate its truth. They should also recognize the difficulties of isolating our intentions and © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

motivati ons.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

4. How is psychological egoism supposed to provide support for an argument for ethical egoism? What is one problem for this argument?

Solution: Ethical egoism may be based

on the claim that we cannot help but be

motivated by egoistic motives. One significant problem involves the challenge of the naturalistic fallacy: just because we are egoistic does not prove that we ought to be so.

5. Summarize the arguments regarding the consistency or inconsistency of ethical egoism.

Solution: Key points include the problem of universalizing egoism: can you say that I should maximize my own self-interest while others should do the same? And what happens when our interests conflict?

6. In what sense does the argument for ethical egoism based on economics support not egoism but utilitarianism—in other words, the view that we ought to do what is in the best interest of all or the greatest number?

Solution: If we claim that the economy will flourish under laissez-faire capitalism, we may be claiming that this is good for everyone (and will promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number), which is in fact utilitarianism.

7. Explain how the prisoner‘s dilemma can be used in discussions of egoism and cooperative endeavor.

Solution: The prisoner‘s dilemma shows that self-interested and noncooperative behavior can produce worse outcomes for those who are self-interested—and that it would be better if the self-interested parties cooperated.

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8.

Ho

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

w does the social contract provide a response to the challenge of egoism?

Solution: The social contract involves an agreement among self-interested parties—an agreement that guarantees that they won‘t cheat or take advantage.

9. How would care ethicists respond to the debate about egoism and altruism?

Solution: Care ethics is critical of the impartial viewpoint, while also emphasizing a relational view of the self. They might suggest that human beings are relational and that there is not as much choice between egoism and altruism as we might suspect.

10.

How does the discussion of evolution (in Pinker) inform our understanding of the conflict between egoism and altruism?

Solution: Pinker suggests that there is an evolutionary basis for cooperation, which helps to ground reciprocal altruism and other forms of altruism in naturalistic explanations.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 5: Utilitarianism

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 18 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 19

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1.

Is human population growth a problem?

Talking Points: Students should be asked to imagine the kinds of problems caused by overpopulation. They should also imagine benefits of a growing population. Negatives could include traffic, environmental issues, disease control. Positives could include innovation, creativity, the importance of human life itself.

2.

Should we take steps to limit population growth? What kinds of steps?

Talking Points: This is a normative question. Not only should students imagine steps to be taken (including birth control, abortion, education, and empowerment of women), but they should also provide a justification. What moral ideas are being used in their thinking? This could push toward a conversation about eugenics—both positive (creative breeding) and negative (involving mandatory euthanasia campaigns).

3.

Should the primary focus of ethics and social policy be the well-being of everyone, or should it be the rights and freedoms of individuals?

Talking Points: The problem here is that if people have a right to reproduce,

overpopulation

may result. But how do we justify limiting a person‘s right to reproduce? This is a typical challenge for utilitarianism. Might also point toward a consideration of the ―tragedy of the commons‖ as discussed in environmental ethics (and related collective-action problems).

4.

Do you think it is possible to promote general happiness for everyone (including future generations) without violating the liberty of some people?

Talking Points: Here students may speculate about creative possibilities. Maybe paying people

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not to have

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

children? Or some other non–liberty-violating incentive program. Of course, they will likely still need to discuss the possibility of balancing liberty/rights with utilitarian concerns. This could open up to a discussion of other such conflicts: pandemic restrictions and vaccinations, pornography and censorship, freedom of speech, and so on.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. State and explain the basic idea of the principle of utility or the greatest happiness principle.

Solution: The principle of utility says that we should promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.

2. What does it mean to speak of utilitarianism as a consequentialist moral theory?

Solution: Utilitarianism is focused on outcomes and results. It is not primarily interested in the abstract value of an act or the intentions behind the act

.

3. What is the difference between intrinsic and instrumental good? Give examples of each.

Solution: Instrumental goods are useful for producing something else, such as happiness. For utilitarianism there is only one intrinsic (or noninstrumental) good, which is happiness (or pleasure). As an example, consider reading. It is good insofar as it makes us happy (and is thus an instrumental good). But this implies that reading is not good in itself, since the only thing that is good in itself on this account is happiness.

4. Which of the following statements exemplify consequentialist reasoning? Can all of them be given consequentialist interpretations if expanded? Explain your answers. a.

Honesty is the best policy.

Solution: Could be consequentialist, if it is focused on happiness produced by honesty. b.

Eduardo has the right to know the truth.

Solution: The idea of a ―right‖ to know the truth sounds like a non-consequentialist idea. c. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Wh at good is going

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

to come from giving money to a homeless person on the street?

Solution: The question of charity, as asked here, focuses on consequences. d.

There is a symbolic value present in personally giving something to another person in

need.

Solution: The ―symbolic value‖ of something may be understood in instrumental terms, that is, that this thing inspires others to do something similar. e.

It is only fair that you give him a chance to compete for the position.

Solution: Discussions of ―fairness‖ are usually non-consequentialist, asking us to think about an abstract value such as equality or justice. f.

If I do not study for my ethics exam, it will hurt my GPA.

Solution: This is a straightforward focus on the consequences of studying. g.

If you are not honest with others, you cannot expect them to be honest with you.

Solution: This principle of reciprocity seems to be about the consequences of something like honesty.

5. Is utilitarianism a hedonist moral theory? Why or why not?

Solution: Hedonistic theories focus on pleasure. Utilitarianism is hedonistic in a very basic sense.

But as discussed in the chapter, it focuses on complex questions about measuring pleasure, and in Mill‘s case, it asks us to consider qualitative differences among pleasures.

6. Using utilitarian calculation, which choice in each of the following pairs is better, X or Y? a. X makes four people happy and me unhappy. Y makes me and one other person happy and three people unhappy. b. X makes twenty people happy and five unhappy. Y makes ten people happy and no one unhappy. c.

X will give five people each two hours of pleasure. Y will give three people each four hours of

pleasure. d. X will make five people very happy and three people mildly unhappy. Y will make six people moderately happy and two people very unhappy.

Solutio © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

n: Probable

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

answers (depending on how one calculates the utilities—but notice that the calculation must simplify and make assumptions about intensity, duration, likelihood, fruitfulness, and so on): a.

X

b.

X—but depends

on how we evaluate the negative utility of unhappiness in

comparison with the happiness involved. c.

Y

d.

X—but depends on the intensity of the unhappiness and happiness

7. What is Mill‘s argument for the difference in value between intellectual and sensual pleasures?

Solution: Good answers will refer to the Socrates vs. pig comparison, while also explaining the idea of qualitative differences among pleasures.

8.

Which of the following is an example of act utilitarian reasoning, and which is an example

of rule utilitarian reasoning? Explain your answers. a.

If I do not go to the meeting, others will not go either. If that happens, there would not

be a quorum for the important vote, which would be bad. Thus, I ought to go to the meeting. b.

If doctors generally lied to their patients about their diagnoses, patients would lose trust

in their doctors. Because that would be bad, I should tell this patient the truth. c.

We ought to keep our promises because it is a valuable practice.

d.

If I cheat here, I will be more likely to cheat elsewhere. No one would trust me then. So

I should not cheat on this test.

Solution: Probable answers a.

Act utilitarianism

b.

Rule utilitarianism

c.

Rule utilitarianism—if the idea of a ―valuable practice‖ is pointing toward some

general principle of practice that will be repeated. d.

Rule utilitarianism

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 6: Deontological Ethics and Immanuel Kant

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think?

1

Review Exercises Solutions

1

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. Do we always have a duty to obey the law—even an unjust law?

Talking Points: Students should consider the question of conscientious objection in multiple contexts, including the examples mentioned: soldiers, nurses, etc. They might be encouraged to compare with similar case in Chapter 1 (the case of Socrates) and the issue of civil disobedience (in Chapter 2). The main point here is to get students to think about duty. What are our duties? And what do we do when there are conflicting duties and when duty seems to run counter to utilitarian concern for the common good.

2.

Are you concerned about the consequences of disobedience, especially if it becomes widespread?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to question the issue of whether social order is their primary concern. The point is to get them to think about the difference between consequentialism and deontology (non-consequentialism). It might be useful here to follow up with the legendary problem directed toward Kant of whether lying can be justified when the Nazis come looking for Jews hidden in the attic. Would it be OK for the one

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

hiding Jews to

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

lie to the authorities in this case? Is that example a matter of consequences–or a matter of conflicting duties?

3.

Does the context matter? For example, whether it is a soldier or a nurse who refuses?

And what about tax refusers such as Thoreau?

Talking Points: Here students might want to dig into the specifics of cases. Can soldiers disobey in an unjust war? (How would they know, and should they be punished?) And what about nurses who refuse to participate in abortion or euthanasia (assuming these are legal activities). What kinds of duties to soldiers and nurses have: to provide care, to obey, or to their own sense of integrity? The tax refuser case can open to the question of general disobedience. It might useful here to introduce Kant‘s idea of ―argue but obey‖ = that we have a duty to obey but that we should be free to dissent, so long as we obey. Is this idea coherent? Is it a result of the kind of deontological theory that Kant proposes? From Kant‘s perspective there are also the two questions of (1) can it be universalized? and (2) does it respect persons as ends in themselves?

4.

How do we know what our duty is, especially when there is an apparent conflict between the duty to obey the law and the duty to avoid supporting injustice?

Talking Points: Here we encounter the idea of a conflict of duties that will return toward the end of the chapter with the discussion of Ross‘s idea prima facie duty. It might

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

help to

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

have students imagine lists of conflicting duties. The further question is how we know what our duties actually are. Again Kant‘s two questions can help–and this might open the door to the idea of a categorical imperative that helps us define our duty. The question that arises (with Ross in mind) is whether there is one conclusion or many about what the categorical imperative requires in specific cases. Finally, it is worth getting students to think about the problem of using happiness as a guide here: duty and happiness are not necessarily the same thing: happiness is empirical/psychological but (for Kant) duty is not.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. Explain why we might not want to locate an action‘s moral worth in its consequences.

Solution: Deontological theories of ethics focus on the intention behind an action as well as on the nature of the act itself. This focus makes sense if you think intentions matter and if you think that there is a set of commands or duties that must be followed and obeyed despite the consequences. Moreover, as Kant might suggest, we have control over our intentions in a way that we do not with regard to consequences, which is why Kant thinks that the focus of moral judgment should be on the will.

2. When Kant refers to ―a good will‖ or ―good intention,‖ does he mean wishing others well? Explain. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

So lution:

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

Kant is talking about a will or intention that is oriented toward the moral law, that is autonomous, and that is good out of respect for morality (and for other persons). The idea of ―wishing others well‖ is more focused on consequences, and for Kant, this is less important than the purity of the will itself.

3. What does Kant mean by ―acting out of duty?‖ How does the shopkeeper exemplify this?

Solution: This means acting because of respect for the morality of things. It is not because of fear of punishment or hope of reward—but rather because doing your duty is simply the right thing to do. The shopkeeper example provides three possibilities. (1) Doing our duty because it is in our interest (e.g., the shopkeeper hopes customers will keep coming back if we treat them fairly). (2) Doing our duty because of natural inclination or sympathy (e.g., the shopkeeper likes her customers and feels friendly toward them). (3) Doing our duty because we know it is the right thing (e.g., the shopkeeper is fair because the moral law commands it). The last of these is what Kant means by acting out of duty.

4. What is the basic difference between a categorical and a hypothetical imperative? In the following examples, which are hypothetical, and which are categorical imperatives?

Explain your answers.

Solution: Hypothetical imperatives are about prudential means for obtaining an end.

Categorical imperative is the moral law: based on universality and respect. a.

If you want others to be honest with you, then you ought to be honest with

them.

This is Hypothetical. It is based on a desire for others to be honest. b.

Whether or not you want to pay your share, you ought to do so.

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This is Categor

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

ical. It is a statement of a rule that always ought to be followed. c.

Because everyone wants to be happy, we ought to consider everyone‘s interests

equally.

This is Hypothetical. It is based upon the desire for happiness. d.

I ought not to cheat on this test if I do not want to get caught.

This is Categorical. It is based on the desire not to get caught.

5. How does the character of moral obligation lead to Kant‘s basic moral principle, the categorical imperative?

Solution: Kant thinks that morality is universally obligating. Morality requires us always to do our duty, without undue regard for changing circumstances and uncontrollable consequences.

6. Explain Kant‘s use of the first form of the categorical imperative to argue that it is wrong to make a false promise. (Make sure that you do not appeal to the bad consequences as the basis of judging it wrong.)

Solution: A false or lying promise begins from a maxim that says something like, ―when in trouble, make a false promise.‖ But if everyone believed this and behaved accordingly, it would make promising impossible—since no one would actually be making genuine promises and no one would believe any promise that anyone made.

7. According to the second form of Kant‘s categorical imperative, would it be morally permissible for me to agree to be someone‘s slave? Explain.

Solution: Although Kant was not an abolitionist with regard to slavery, his theory can © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

be used to

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

criticize slavery. The second form of the categorical imperative tells us to respect persons as ends in themselves and to no use persons as means only. This idea implies that slavery is immoral because it is disrespectful of the person on the slave and because a slave is used as a means.

8. What is the practical difference between a perfect and an imperfect duty?

Solution: Perfect duties are morally required and invariably applied, unlike imperfect duties, which are flexible and depend in part upon context and circumstances. For example, we have a perfect duty to ourselves that requires us to respect our own personhood and refrain from committing suicide. But we have an imperfect duty to develop our talents. In the first case, suicide is always wrong. But in the second case, there is some flexibility about how we should develop our talents.

9.

How can we use Kantian ideas to argue against racism and sexism?

Solution: Kant‘s theory emphasizes respect for autonomy and the dignity of persons.

The second form of the categorical imperative tells us to respect persons as ends in themselves and never to use another person merely as a means. Kant failed to extend moral respect to non-White and non-European people. He also failed to consider women as fully equal to men. Kant‘s views of race and gender were typical of his era. But more than 200 years later, we can go beyond Kant, while use Kantian ideas to argue against racism and sexism. That basic argument would hold that all human persons (of any race or gender) are deserving of moral respect. Furthermore, we could use the first form of the categorical imperative to argue against racism and sexism by claiming that racist and sexist policies and ideas fail the categorical imperative‘s test of universality.

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 7: Natural Law and Human Rights

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 28 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 30

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. Do refugees have a right to take refuge? Should they be protected against refoulement?

Talking Points: Students should consider what the right to take refuge implies

,

including a right to housing, care, education, and so on. They should also make sure they understand the right to non-refoulement. To discuss these particular rights, it might help to draw up a list of fundamental human rights. Would that list include a right to protection against oppression?

2. Do you agree that refugees have a right to education, housing, freedom of movement, and work?

Talking Points: Students may want to discuss each of the rights of refugees separately. Maybe they would want to consult key UN documents listing these rights.

Again it might help to imagine how these particular rights of refugees are connected to a more basic set of rights. What about the costs of all of this? With this in mind, student © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

s may

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

want to consider whether they are more sympathetic to consequentialist arguments or whether they agree with a deontological or non-consequentialist interpretation and application of human rights ideas.

3. What is the basis for your thinking about these rights? And about human rights in general?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to explore ideas about how human rights are grounded. Do they come from God? Are they self-evident? Are they inalienable? Do we have these rights by virtue of our humanity? Or are they connected to our membership in a political community? The refugee question puts this last point on the table: when you lose citizenship in a home community, do you nonetheless retain basic human rights? And who would enforce those rights, if you do not have membership in a political community? This points toward the difference between natural/human rights and civil rights.

4. Can you imagine good reasons for denying refugees the right to asylum? Do you agree with the U.S. policy of forcibly deporting Haitian refugees?

Talking Points: With this question in mind, students should be encouraged to imagine both sides of the issue with regard to the U.S. deportation of Haitian refugees. Public safety and cost on the one hand (these are consequentialist concerns), with basic human rights on the other (a non-consequentialist focus). In evaluating concrete U.S. policy, students should be encouraged to do some research on the details—and to avoid knee-jerk political reactions to a complex moral question.

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1.

What is the difference between the scientific laws of nature, the positive laws of political life, and the natural law?

Solution: The scientific laws of nature are meant to be descriptive laws that explain how the physical world works. The positive laws of political life are laws that are constructed by particular societies and governments. The natural law theory of ethics is focused on normative laws that transcend the positive laws of politics. But the natural law theory of morality is normative, unlike the laws of natural science.

2. In what way is natural law theory teleological?

Solution: Natural law theory develops from a worldview that sees the world as having a teleological organization, which means that there are purposes and functions in nature (and which can be understood by reason). This depends on a certain metaphysical view of human beings and our place in the natural order of things.

3. What specific natural capacities are singled out by natural law theorists? How do these determine what we ought to do, according to the theory?

Solution: Natural law focuses on our capacity to think, choose, and act. It views human beings as free and rational beings. This means that we ought to respect our freedom and our rationality. From this we can derive a basic right to life and liberty, including freedom of conscience and the right to property, possession, and the pursuit of happiness.

4. How is Aquinas's approach to natural law connected to his theological views?

Solution: Aquinas is a Christian theologian who wanted to unite faith and reason. He © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

thought the natural

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

law was connected to God‘s eternal law. God has a plan for the universe, according to Aquinas, and morality is included as part of that plan.

5. How is natural law connected with Stoicism?

Solution: The Stoics advise to act in accord with nature. They took this to mean that we should conform to a law of nature that is eternal and unchanging. This law was known by reason and common to all persons.

6. Describe the basic idea of rights according to early natural rights theorists such as Locke, including where they come from and how we know we have them.

Solution: Natural rights theorists such as Locke claim that our rights are given to us by a creator. Locke said we are the ―workmanship of one omnipotent, and infinitely wise maker.‖ This idea is similar to Jefferson‘s idea that we are endowed by our creator with inalienable rights. These thinkers believe that our rights are inalienable and that it is selfevident that we have them.

7. Give examples of what sorts of rights we are supposed to have according to the theories of natural rights and human rights? What is the problem with merely stipulating a list of rights?

Solution: Locke and Jefferson focus on the right to life, liberty, and possession (or property or the pursuit of happiness). The evolving international human rights doctrine includes a variety of other rights including, for example, the rights of refugees. This can also include other rights such as freedom of speech, the right to assembly, and freedom of religion. The problem with merely stipulating a list of rights is that such a list does not © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

provide a

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

justification of the list. And since different people come up with different lists, we can end up with disagreement and the possibility of relativism. For example, there is an ongoing dispute about the relative importance of positive vs. negative rights.

8. What is the difference between natural/human rights and civil rights?

Solution: Human rights or natural rights are those rights we are supposed to have by virtue of our humanity and without reference to the political communities to which we belong. Civil rights, on the other hand, are rights that are granted to us by virtue of membership in a community. The right to vote may be merely a civil right that depends on membership. But some may argue that voting is a human right.

9. Explain the criticism of natural law from the perspective of those who deny the idea of ―human nature.‖ Solution: Existentialist philosophers claim that there is no human essence. Relativists also offer a similar challenge. The point is that there may be no universally valid account of human nature. And if this is so, the ontological, metaphysical, and teleological focus of natural law theory is called into question.

10. How have critics of slavery and proponents of women‘s rights advanced our understanding of human rights and natural law?

Solution: In earlier centuries, the natural law theory was used to defend slavery and patriarchal hierarchy. But this idea has been challenged by authors who ground their critique of these practices in a revised view of the natural law. Opponents of slavery such as Lysander Spooner claimed that slavery was a violation of natural right and natural law.

And an early feminist like Mary Wollstonecraft argued that the rights of humanity ought to include a vindication of the rights of women. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 8: Virtue Ethics

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 33 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 35

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. What kinds of virtues are important in a public health crisis and in other social emergencies??

Talking Points: Students should consider their own understanding and experience in thinking about key virtues. They should be encouraged to name specific virtues (e.g., courage, honesty, compassion, etc.). They may see that there are conflicting values here—and even that there are conflicts in the ways that specific virtues get applied.

Other emergencies worth considering might involve earthquakes, storms, wars, etc.

2. Is it courageous to refuse to get vaccinated?

Talking Points: Students will likely have strong opinions about vaccinations in general and the pandemic. It is OK for them to express their opinions about pandemic restrictions and vaccinations. But students should AVOID getting sidetracked by data on vaccinations, death rates, and so on. Rather, the question asks them to think about the meanin © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

g of courage

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

. How do we define that term? How is it applied (and misapplied) in specific cases? It might be worth mentioning the issue that comes up at the end of the chapter: the question (discussed in relation to Philippa Foot) about whether a ―villain‖ is actually courageous. Can courage be evaluated apart from a more general account of human flourishing and the common good?

3. Are there different accounts of virtue that are relative to different cultures?

Talking Points: The example here is about a difference between Confucian virtues and some other set of virtues. There is a risk of stereotyping here, so students should be encouraged to be careful in generalizing. They may also be encouraged to consult the data for themselves in terms of differences between Confucian and U.S. cultures. A significant question is whether culture explains this difference or whether there is some other causal explanation. The more general question is whether the virtues really are different in different cultures. Students should be encouraged to think about which virtues matter within their own families and cultures—and how those differ from other sets of virtues.

4. Is there one common set of virtues for all human beings?

Talking Points: This question can connect to the discussion of relativism in Chapter 3.

The question is about universality and the common good. Students might be encouraged to create lists of common virtues. They might compare these lists with other lists of key virtues discussed later in the chapter (e.g., the four cardinal virtues of ancient Greece, the three virtues we identify here in relation to Confucianism, the five

yamas of Hinduism–or some other set of virtues, e.g., the virtues associated with Christianity or some other religion). Can a common set of virtues be derived? Or are we left with conflicting sets of virtues? And then: how might these different sets of virtues help us in response to a social emergency like the pandemic?

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. What is the basic difference between virtue ethics and other types of ethics we have studied?

Solution: Virtue ethics focuses on character traits, habits, and dispositions. It is not focused on producing social happiness. Rather, it is interested in happiness as eudaimonia (i.e., flourishing). Nor does it contain a list of prohibitions and/or duties (as in the case of deontology or natural rights). Rather, it encourages individuals to seek the ―golden mean,‖ which is a middle path between extremes.

2. According to Aristotle, what is the difference between intellectual and moral virtue?

Solution: Intellectual virtues are habits of mind that help us actualize the uniquely human good of thinking (or contemplation). These virtues are focused on the unique capacity of human beings to think and reason. Moral virtues are connected with our social nature—and also our animality. Moral virtues actualize our potentiality as social animals.

3. Explain the importance of character and habits in virtue ethics.

Solution: Virtue ethics is interested in a person‘s tendency to act in a certain way.

Rather than focusing on moral judgment about concrete and specific actions, virtue ethics asks us to consider the overall disposition of a person to do the right thing, at the right time, in the right amount, and for the right reasons. Thus, virtue ethics focuses on adjectives that describe characteristics such as honest, compassionate, courageous, and so on. These adjectives identify certain traits or habits of human behavior connected to human excellence.

4. Give a list of some virtues and related vices; explain how these virtues contribute to © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

eudaim onia.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

Solution: In the Greek tradition, there were four cardinal virtues: prudence (or wisdom), justice, temperance, and courage. In the Confucian tradition, three virtues were emphasized: courtesy, benevolence, and respect for elders. In the Greek case, as explained by Aristotle, these virtues should lead to flourishing or happiness. Aristotle‘s idea of happiness is known as eudaimonia, which is not simply pleasure. Rather, it is a way of being an excellent human being.

5. According to Aristotle, how is virtue a mean between extremes? Give some examples.

Solution: Virtue lies between two ―vices‖—a vice of deficiency and a vice of excess. For example, courage is a mean between two extremes: rashness/foolhardiness (excessive fearlessness) and cowardice/timidity (too much fear). Or in connection with self-regard: pride is in the middle between humility (a deficiency of pride) and vanity (excessive pride).

6. Are there virtues that are excellences for all human beings, or are virtues dependent on our roles or our culture?

Solution: There are different virtues that are specific to different people in different roles: soldiers have different virtues from teachers. This question also points us toward conflicts that arise in thinking about cross-cultural comparisons, say in the difference between Asian (Confucian) virtue traditions and Western traditions. But even with the Western tradition there are conflicting virtues. MacIntyre points out that Christian virtues are different from Greek virtues—for example, with regard to the importance of humility, faith, and other values. If there were to be a universal account of the virtues, we would need to have an account of the overall purpose and function of human life.

7.

W

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

hat

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

does Aristotle say about slavery and gender hierarchy?

Solution: Aristotle held that there were ―natural slaves‖ and that women were subordinate to men. He thought there was a natural hierarchy that put free male citizens at the top of the social structure. He suggested that for ―natural slaves‖—who lacked the capacity for intellectual and moral improvement—slavery could be both ―just and expedient.‖ This theory is morally problematic—and authors such as Tessman have pointed out that we need to update and criticize Aristotle in this regard.

8. What kinds of virtues might be needed in a more egalitarian society than the one Aristotle lived in?

Solution: Tessman points out that it is possible to have more inclusive virtues.

Compassion, solidarity, and rebelliousness could be among a list of virtues needed to liberate people and create a more egalitarian society. Tessman also points out that this is morally and psychologically problematic, since those virtues (what she calls ―burdened virtues‖) will not be easy,. especially in a hierarchical culture that demands submission, obedience, and conformity. An example she discusses is anger, which may be useful for those on the receiving end of oppression.

9. Who most exemplifies the virtue of courage—the person who finds it difficult to be brave or the person who finds it easy to be courageous?

Solution: This question is a matter of opinion/argument. But a significant issue for answering it is raised by Philippa Foot, who suggests we should think about the importance of moral effort. If someone is simply and habitually courageous, they may find moral © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

behavio r to be easy.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

But we also seem to think that the moral life should involve effort—and that if something comes easily and naturally, it may be worth less than something that requires a struggle.

One part of the answer to this question involves thinking about the value of moral education and social supports for virtue.

10. Can a virtue such as courage be used to describe the actions of a villain (can a bad person really be courageous)?

Solution: This issue is raised by Philippa Foot. It might make sense to think that a bad person is courageous when doing their bad deeds. But ultimately Foot (and Aristotle) would remind us to think about the justice of the larger context. Aristotle suggested that it was difficult to be happy and good in a bad society. And Foot encourages us to look at the larger context. Rather, we need a larger point of view that considers the virtues in connection with one another and in the context of social life.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 9: Feminist Thought and the Ethics of Care

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 39 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 41

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. How important to you is the struggle for women‘s liberation and equality?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about (or research on their own—or with instructor help) facts and issues involving women‘s liberation movements (some of this is provided later in the chapter in the history of feminist and women‘s movements). Some students may want to argue that women are already legally equal in developed countries. But that is the result of past struggles. Others may want to claim that this political issue is not a concern for philosophy. But it is worth noting the exclusion of women‘s issues and perspectives from the philosophical tradition. Finally, this could be made concrete by discussing issues involving mothers, grandmothers, sisters, and the present generation.

2. What kinds of issues involving the inequality of women are most important for you?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about (or research on their own—or with instructor help) facts and issues involving women‘s inequality, including ongoing protests in Iran and other countries, and pay disparities, women‘s athletics, and so on. Students should be encouraged to discuss the question of what liberation and equality mean in specific cases—and whether there are cultural or other factors involved. They may also want to discuss the kinds of discrimination or inequality involving gender that they have confronted.

3. W © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

ould

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

you be willing to go to jail, as the protesters in Iran have, in protesting for women‘s rights?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to research (on their own or with instructor help) the Iranian protests and the repercussions—as well as the prior backlash against women protesters in the developed world (e.g., in the suffrage movement of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The point here is to think about the degree to which women and their supporters should be protesting and struggling. It could also be interesting to generate a conversation about the effectiveness of certain kinds of protests. For example, is there something significant about a woman cutting her hair in public (as in Iran)? What might work in the United States in terms of pay gaps (say, a strike or other protest by the U.S. women‘s soccer team)?

4. How do race, culture, religion, and sexuality impact our thinking about women‘s issues?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about and do research on cultural, religious, and other differences. This might also include research on how Black or Asian women are doing (in terms of pay or violence) in relation to white women—and men. We discuss intersectionality in the chapter and some other cultural issues such as violence against women and honor crimes. Students may already understand something about the importance of sexuality and gender identity, but may not realize how that connects to feminism (there is a further discussion in Chapter 16). Students should be reminded of the complexity of the problem, and the worry about ethnocentrism and eurocen © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

trism

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

that we discussed in previous chapters.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. What is feminism and how is it related to philosophical inquiries into sex and gender?

Solution: Feminists are concerned with the liberation of women and establishing equality for women. One focal point of feminism is the critique of structures of male domination in social, political, and cultural life. This includes a critique of traditional concepts and norms involved in thinking about sex, sexuality, and gender. As feminism has developed, it has extended toward a critique of the gender binary, which means that it asks us to consider what it means to be a ―woman.‖ Contemporary feminism tends to hold that gender concepts (such as femininity) are socially constructed and cannot be reduced to some biological or physiological fact.

2. What are some limitations of traditional approaches to ethics, when viewed from the vantage point of feminism?

Solution: Feminists point out that traditional philosophical theories of ethics (such as natural law, virtue ethics, Kantian deontology, and utilitarianism) have often neglected the concerns of women, while also tending to support traditional patriarchal notions of women that contributed to their subordination. Aristotle, for example, suggested that women were inferior to men. In addition, traditional approaches to moral theory tend to focus © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

on norms

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like impartiality and universality, while neglecting the importance of care and relationship.

3. Identify and explain some supposed differences between masculine and feminine ethical perspectives, as articulated by Carol Gilligan‘s work.

Solution: Gilligan suggests that masculine ethical perspectives emphasize impartiality, neutrality, universality, justice, and other norms. On the other hand, a feminine ethical perspective emphasizes care, empathy, compassion, and relationships. In explanation, it may be that the norms of the masculine framework are norms of the public sphere, while feminine values are more typical of the private sphere. And this may in fact be the result of social roles and the traditional exclusion of women from the public sphere.

4. How is Carol Gilligan‘s work to be understood in relation to the work of Lawrence Kohlberg or Freud?

Solution: Gilligan developed her theory out of a critical response to the work of Kohlberg and other male psychologists, including Freud. Freud, for example, had suggested that women tended to be morally inferior because they were more emotional and showed less of a ―sense of justice.‖ Kohlberg‘s account of moral development suggested that boys and men tended to be concerned with impartial rationality, rule following, and a disinterested or universal point of view. Gilligan‘s research focused on the moral framework of girls, and she suggested that girls had a different moral focus, which was oriented toward caring relationships. While Kohlberg and Freud may have suggest © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

ed that

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

the feminine point of view was inferior or showed a lack of complete moral development, Gilligan suggested that women‘s moral point of view was worthy of equal consideration and respect, as a ―different voice.‖ 5. What are the basic features of the ethics of care?

Solution: The ethics of care is focused on the kinds of moral responses that are generated within concrete relationships of care. This involves two parties: the carer and the cared-for. A paradigm example of this is the mother–child relationship. Rather than focusing morality on abstract rules and universal principles, care ethics suggests that we focus on moral responsiveness and the kind of responsibility that is generated within concrete relationships of care. That responsiveness includes emotional attachment and important moral feelings such as compassion, empathy, and love. Noddings and others emphasized the maternal relationship as a paradigm example, which tended to suggest that care ethics was a uniquely feminine or female approach to ethics. But men can be caregivers, and different cultures evaluate care (and gender roles) in different ways.

6. What criticisms of care ethics have been articulated by feminists?

Solution: While care ethics attempted to listen to the female ―voice‖ and bring caring relationships and emotional connection to the fore, some feminists worried that this approach continued to rely

on stereotypes about women and the supposed gender

binary constructed by social roles. One significant concern is that a gendered approach to care ethics may end up suggesting that women are better suited for ―caring professi © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

ons‖

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

such as nursing or teaching, while also suggesting that women may not be well suited for other careers such as doctors or judges.

7. What is the primary focal point of the so-called first wave of feminism, and who are some of its key thinkers?

Solution: First-wave feminism was focused on political rights and equality for women.

It included the women‘s suffrage movement, which aimed to get women the right to vote. Key thinkers in that movement include Mary Wollstonecraft, who wrote a book entitled

A Vindication of the Rights of Women. Other key thinkers included Harriet

Taylor Mill (the wife of John Stuart Mill) and Elizabeth Cady Stanton. Cady Stanton helped to organize a movement for women‘s equality in the United States that began with the Seneca Falls

Convention of 1848.

8. What is the significance of intersectionality for feminism, and how is it related to the critical perspective provided by an author such as bell hooks?

Solution: Intersectionality directs our attention to the complex network of identities and discrimination that make up a person‘s life and experience. Contemporary feminists are interested in this complex account of diversity. But early feminism was often focused on the concerns of White women. The Black feminist author, bell hooks, provides a critical alternative that was critical of racism among White feminists. From hooks‘ perspective, feminism ought to be oriented toward a general critique of all kinds of domination, while aiming to liberate all people from racism, sexism, classism, and other forms © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

of

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

oppression.

9. How do issues involving trans persons and the queer theory of Judith Butler connect to the concerns of feminism?

Solution: In criticizing structures of patriarchal oppression, feminists call gender norms into question, including the so-called gender binary. This effort began with Simone de Beauvoir‘s claim that one is not born but becomes a woman. This line of inquiry suggests that gender is a social construction and that difference between male and female is not a natural biological fact. This extends to include recognition of the fact that trans persons exist and that nonheterosexual forms of sexuality also exist. Judith Butler‘s work has been influential in showing the complexity of sex, sexuality, and gender—and the ways in which gender norms are established and enforced within culture. This kind of critique could be called ―queer theory,‖ which is an attempt to deconstruct traditional notions of sex, gender, and sexuality.

10. What are some of the concerns feminists might have about pornography, violence against women, and economic inequality?

Solution: Feminists are interested in liberating women and promoting social, cultural, and political equality for women. One problem that must be confronted is economic inequality, including the gender pay gap. Feminists maintain that women should be compensated fairly and equally. Another tragic problem is violence against women, which includes sexual violence, rape, and harassment, as well as honor killing and other assaults on the lives and bodies © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

of

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women (such as modesty laws). Feminists argue that this significant social and cultural problem needs remedying and that women need to be liberated from the oppression of violence against women. With regard to pornography, feminists have often been critical of pornography as part of a male-dominant culture that objectifies women. But some feminists have also asked whether there could be pornography that empowers women. In general, the feminist focal point in applied ethics asks us to consider how women and girls are impacted by legal structures, social policies, and cultural practices.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 10: Health Care Ethics

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 46 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 48

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1.

How should society balance the concern for liberty with the desire to promote public health?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to do some research and thinking about both sides of the debate here from an abstract level and in connection with COVID-19. What were the public

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

health

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restrictions—and risks? Other examples could be considered: seat belt laws, helmet laws, smoking bans, and so on. The point of asking the question this way is to focus on balance; assuming that there is a conflict, how can we balance competing values?

2. Should people be forced to get vaccinated in a pandemic or to wear a mask?

Talking Points: Students may want to do a bit of preliminary research (either on their own or with instructor help) about the kinds of regulations that applied during COVID-19 pandemic, recognizing that the rules changed and evolved over time. For some, this will be clearly in their memories. But some may not have paid attention to the rules and restrictions. The question of force is worth pausing over. To what extent are the rules in voluntary experiences (such as travel or higher education) different from rules involved in less voluntary matters (such as K–12 education)? There are other examples of vaccination that could be considered as well beyond COVID-19. It is worth considering what masks are supposed to do—and whether they might also be recommended in flu or cold season—as well as during outbreaks of diseases such as COVID19.

3. Who should be in charge of public health: cities, states, or federal/international agencies?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about and do some research on the different levels of authority and control of public health. They may be able to find information on success/failure rates. The ethics question is about effectiveness and fairness. This connects to lots of other issues such as global poverty or different rules regulating abortion in different states. Is public health and disease prevention a regional concern or national or international?

There is also a question worth considering about whether medical authorities are the most important decision-makers or some other group of experts (say, economists).

4. Do individuals have a personal obligation to take steps to prevent spreading disease? © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Talking Points:

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

The point of this question is to get students to think about what they did and are willing to do on behalf of public health. Without prying into their private choices, a discussion could involve various choices about masking or vaccination. And this could expand beyond COVID-19 to include discussions of condom use to prevent STDs or the risks of secondhand smoke. A basic ethical question here is about individual responsibility, concern for others, and a more general utilitarian concern.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. Why does the study of bioethics tend to focus on case studies (sometimes called casuistry), and what does this mean for moral judgment?

Solution: Bioethics involves complex issues that depend on the details of the case. Case study analysis (casuistry) is a time-honored practice in medical ethics and other professional ethics fields. One difficulty of the case study approach is that it might merely be a way of exploring our intuitions without critically scrutinizing them. A more useful approach also brings in moral principles and explores who those principles apply to cases.

2. How many basic principles of bioethics are there? Compare and contrast different lists of principles (including the list provided in this chapter).

Solution: In this chapter, we discussed seven principles: autonomy, beneficence, nonmaleficence, distributive justice, human rights, health maximization, and care for the vulnerable. Other lists are simpler. The Belmont Report focused on autonomy, benefic © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

ence, and

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

justice. To that list, Beauchamp and Childress add a fourth value: non-maleficence.

Simpler lists are useful as rules of thumb that are easy to remember and apply. But moral judgment also involves complexities that may require more expansive lists of value.

3. What is health? How are social and cultural factors connected to judgments about health?

Solution: Health is typically viewed as an objective fact that can be measured. But health also includes normative judgments that are connected to cultural and social judgments, norms, and expectations. The World Health Organization defined health as a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being. But ideas about mental and social well-being are complex—as are ideas of what counts as complete physical wellbeing. Some examples discussed include issues related to epilepsy, sexuality, and gender. Body image and ideas about obesity and ideal body type were also discussed along with questions about eyesight including color-blindness and presbyopia (the natural and normal inability to see near objects that happens in middle age). A significant concern is what counts as “normal function.”

4. What kinds of cultural and social factors were at play in thinking about the COVID-19 pandemic from a health-care and public health perspective?

Solution: There was a need to balance concern for the vulnerable with concern for other social values. Some people with comorbidities were particularly vulnerable to the disease. One question is the degree to which public health policy should focus on protecti © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

ng the vulnera

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ble in comparison with promoting other social values including economic well-being, education, and mental health.

5. Explain how codes of ethics have evolved and are used in health care and research.

Solution: One of the oldest codes is the Hippocratic oath. More recent codes and statements of principle have evolved—often in response to atrocities. This was the case with the development of the Nuremburg Code (which was a response to Nazi atrocities) and the Belmont Report (which was a response to the Tuskegee Syphilis Experiments).

Codes of ethics currently are used in professional health-care settings and in research facilities—providing guidance for practice. There are ethics review boards that approve research and provide advice in complex cases involving moral dilemmas.

6. Can a code of ethics or list of principles help us solve ethical dilemmas?

Solution: Ethical dilemmas occur when there is a conflict between two values. As we discussed with regard to Kidder, a dilemma is a conflict that is understood as “right v. right” or “good v. good.” This is different from a temptation, where one of the choices is obviously wrong. A code of ethics or list or principles can help us understand the values that are in conflict. But there is an open question about how best to resolve a genuine dilemma (since by definition a dilemma is a basic conflict of values).

7. Imagine some cases in which benevolent paternalism comes into conflict with respect for autonomy. How would you resolve such a dilemma?

Solution: Benevolent paternalism occurs when we make a decision and take action in the best interest of a patient. Sometimes this occurs when a patient is incapacitated or incompetent. In such a case, there is lack of capacity to give informed consent. A public health © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

exampl e

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involved COVID-19 restrictions, which seemed to violate autonomy (e.g., a mask mandate).

Another example involved restraining a delusional patient. In some cases, there is a fairly clear dilemma and conflict of values (perhaps in the COVID case). But in other cases, it seems fairly obvious that autonomy is lacking and benevolent paternalism can be justified (as in the case of restraining a delusional patient). One important point included in this discussion is to prevent paternalism from becoming authoritarian and resulting in atrocity.

8. How do you think we should respond to cases in which rationing is needed? What rule or criterion would you apply?

Solution: Rationing involves making decisions about allocating health-care resources under conditions of scarcity. It could occur when there is an emergency and not enough hospital beds. This was a significant worry during the COVID-19 pandemic, and involved questions of “ventilator triage.” Different procedures were considered in the chapter. Some seem to involve luck: first in line, a lottery, and so on. This does not seem to take need into account. Other approaches may involve “social worth,” for example, focusing on those with more children or more important jobs. But most bioethicists caution against using social worth, since it can reinforce bias and discrimination. We also discussed the possibility of age cutoffs and the idea of fair innings. But a worry about that approach is that it can be ageist—and can connect to bias against people with disabilities.

9. Is there a right to health and health care? If so, how much and at what cost? If not, why not?

Solution: The right to health care has been debated, including the question of whether it is a human right. Those who view health care as a human right focus on “positive rights” as entitle © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

ments to basic

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goods. Critics of this focus on “negative rights” (as protections against interference) and argue that no one should be compelled to provide health care for others. The first idea is defended by Kai Nielsen, who argued that basic health care should be universal and free, where socially possible. The second idea is defended by John David Lewis, who argues that health care is not a right. In the middle, we discussed Norman Daniels, who argued that some “tiering” could be justified—an idea that focuses on a basic level of health care for all, while also allowing choice at higher tiers.

10. Explain why eugenics might be a problem if we focus only on health maximization.

Solution: Eugenics is the process of trying to improve the gene pool. It might seem defensible from a public health standpoint as a reasonable part of a project of health maximization. But historically, eugenics was often biased against poor people, people of color, and people with disabilities. Sometimes it resulted in atrocities such as forced sterilization and even euthanasia. One question about health-care maximization is whether it is focused on eliminating disability by focusing negatively on those who are disabled or whether in a just and comprehensive scheme of public health, it is connected with a policy that supports and sustains those who are disabled.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 11: Abortion and Euthanasia

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 53 © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Review Exercise s

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Solutions ......................................................................................................................................... 55

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. Do women have a fundamental right to choose to have an abortion?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about a number of issues as they get started: the question of rights, the idea of a right to privacy, the importance of choice/autonomy, and the issue of women‘s rights and feminist concerns. The chapter will provide more details. But students could be encouraged to think about cases and examples including sex-selective abortion, abortion in the case of disability, in the case of rape, in case of life-threatening pregnancy, and so on. The idea of a ―fundamental right‖ could be interrogated as well. What other rights are fundamental? And how does abortion law connect to other rights: religious liberty, equality, and so on. To claim that

women have a right to abortion points in the direction of a ―pro-choice‖ point of view as discussed in the chapter, as well as issues related to feminism discussed here as well. It might be worth encouraging students to discuss whether pro-choice is the same as ―proabortion.‖

2. What kinds of beings have a basic right to life?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to consider the very basis of a right to life. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

This will link

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

to ontological and moral questions that are discussed in the chapter regarding both fetuses and adult humans with brain damage or other disabilities. One issue for discussion is when (during pregnancy or development after birth) human beings obtain the right to life and whether we can lose that right in some cases toward the end of life.

Students should be encouraged to speculate about what gives us rights, who has rights, and how would we know? This could extend to a consideration of nonhuman animals (a topic discussed in Chapter 20).

3. Should abortion be legal or illegal?

Talking Points: This question should prompt critical discussion of Roe v. Wade and

Dobbs v. Jackson. These cases disagree about the legal question. This disagreement has prompted state bans and restrictions on abortion. Students could be encouraged to research local and state laws (with instructor support) in their own area or in areas they are familiar with. This in turn points to a question about whether something should be legal in one jurisdiction but not in another. The emerging legal frameworks across the states draw lines in different places involving various exceptions, gestational processes, and so on. These differences can be used to prompt moral questions about when and for what reasons abortion should be legal or not. Instructors will likely want to note that there is a difference between the moral question and the legal question—and that prochoice could include the right to choose, even if people would not make that choice for themsel © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

ves.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

4. How does your thinking about abortion connect to your thinking about end-of-life decisions and other issues involving privacy?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to aim toward some consistent and principled set of conclusions. Thinking about abortion should be consistent with thinking about euthanasia and assisted suicide. But students should be pressed to think about circumstances and cases that also open space for differences. The distinctions between types of euthanasia might be relevant to this discussion (active, passive, voluntary, involuntary, nonvoluntary). Students might want to figure those distinctions out—and then imagine how they might apply in the case of abortion. The question of privacy opens onto a number of other issues in sexual morality and other topics. Roe v. Wade had established a right to privacy. Dobbs called that into question. Students may want to consider what implications Dobbs has for privacy in marriage, sexuality, or even with regard to data collection.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. Outline the difference between pro-choice and pro-life arguments regarding euthanasia and abortion.

Solutio © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

n: Prochoice

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allows for abortion and euthanasia when consent is present. This would include voluntary euthanasia. But it would disallow abortion or euthanasia that is coerced. Prochoice is not ―pro-abortion,‖ meaning that it does not advocate abortion but only for the possibility of choosing it. Similar reasoning holds with regard to euthanasia. Autonomy is a key value for the pro-choice idea. Pro-life arguments are opposed to killing.

Sometimes this is a broad ―consistent ethic of life‖ that opposes euthanasia, suicide, war, the death penalty, and abortion. The pro-life side focuses on claims about the ontological and moral status of fetuses and brain-damaged adults, maintaining that all living humans have a right to life (even early embryos and brain-damaged adults).

2. Evaluate the importance of consent and privacy in thinking about these issues.

Solution: The right to privacy was important in Roe v. Wade. It was removed from consideration in Dobbs. This key idea holds that we should be allowed to make our own decisions about important matters including birth and death. The idea is related to the value of autonomy and the importance of consent. But pro-life arguments are less concerned with privacy and more concerned with preventing decisions that are deemed to be immoral (such as abortion or euthanasia). The issues of consent and privacy may also show up in thinking about sexual morality and other topics.

3. Evaluate utilitarian arguments for and against abortion/euthanasia.

Solution: Utilitarians are focused on creating outcomes that produce the greatest happiness for the greatest number. This theory could be used to justify and permit abortion and euthanasia. Permitting choice might be an important matter that creates happiness for lots of people. And in some cases, it is possible to imagine that some © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

kinds of abortio

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ns could produce happiness for many people—as in the case of fetuses with abnormalities or in the case of a mother‘s health emergency during pregnancy. A utilitarian argument could be used to justify euthanasia—including even active euthanasia if it results in a painless death (cf. James Rachels). On the other hand, utilitarians may be worried about slippery slopes and negative outcomes from permissive policies regarding euthanasia and abortion. Furthermore, it depends how much a fetus or a brain-damaged adult matters in the utilitarian calculation.

4. Describe how Thomson uses the violinist analogy to make an argument about the moral permissibility of abortion. What kinds of cases might this apply to?

Solution: Thomson‘s violinist analogy is best used to help think about abortion in the case of rape. In the scenario, a person is hooked up against her will to another person and asked to support that person. If she disconnects, the other person will die. A crucial point here is that procedure is in violation of the person‘s autonomy and consent. Thus, it is similar to abortion in the case of rape. But it could be extended to abortion in other cases where consent is lacking—as in failed birth control. Thomson‘s argument is about a conflict of rights. Even if the fetus is a person, a woman would be justified in disconnecting herself.

5. Evaluate various criteria for personhood and how they apply to abortion and to euthanasia.

Solution: We discussed the importance of various stages in pregnancy for drawing a line for the permissibility of abortion: conception, when a heartbeat is present, when the brain develops, when quickening occurs, at the point of viability. We also discussed the importance of potentiality. With regard to the end of life, we also discussed issues concern © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

ing whole

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brain death and other criteria for death. And we considered Mary Anne Warren‘s psychological criteria that focus on degrees of consciousness. Each of us will need to decide where to draw the line, whether at biological/genetic humanity or somewhere ―higher‖

up the chain of physiological and psychological functions and capacities. We

should also be aware of the importance of potentiality and how it might apply differently in discussions of abortion than in discussions of euthanasia at the end of life.

6. How important is potentiality for thinking about abortion—and euthanasia?

Solution: As discussed in the previous section, potentiality is a key ontological question.

With regard to abortion, it is fairly clear that ordinarily a fetus will develop into a human and actualize its ―potentiality.‖ This is not necessarily true for fetuses with disabilities or diseases. Some argue that potentiality is a key idea and that if a fetus is a potential person, then it should not be killed (cf. Marquis). At the end of life, potentiality is less important, especially in cases of severe brain damage where there is no hope of return to normal function.

7. What is the difference between active and passive euthanasia? Is physician-assisted suicide more like active or passive euthanasia? How so?

Solution: With active euthanasia, something is actively done that brings about death (e.g., a lethal injection). Passive euthanasia merely allows death to happen, by ―natural causes,‖ as is sometimes said (e.g., pulling the plug on life support). In the United States, passive euthanasia is generally allowed (with consent), while active euthanasia is not.

Physician-assisted suicide is probably more like active euthanasia insofar as something is done (i.e., a drug is taken that ends life). But in a sense, the physician who prescribed the lethal dose did not do anything. The prescribing physician merely made the drug available, while © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

the

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patient who self-administered the drug was the active agent in the act of suicide.

8. What kinds of arguments can be used for and against active and passive euthanasia?

Solution: One question is whether either active or passive euthanasia causes pain and suffering. Assuming that consent is present (i.e., that it is ―voluntary‖), then the question is about alleviating pain and hastening death. Some authors (e.g., James Rachels) argue that active euthanasia can be more humane

since it ends suffering

quickly. But others are still not convinced that active euthanasia can be justified. GayWilliams argues that is not, by noting that there may be a slippier slope and other problems. The argument in favor of passive euthanasia would be that there is nothing wrong with letting nature take its course, preferring that death should come from a disease or some other process rather than from one person actively killing another.

9. Explain how feminist and social justice concerns arise in thinking about abortion and euthanasia.

Solution: Abortion is often viewed as a women‘s rights issue: women‘s right to choose is seen as a crucial part of other rights for women. This is also connected with the need for exceptions in the case of rape, which is obviously an unwanted pregnancy. Some feminists (cf. Manninen) are also concerned to be sensitive to the experience of women, which includes not being dismissive of the status of the fetus. Related to this and connected to the issue of euthanasia are topics such as the impact of pregnancy, abortion, and end-of-life care on poor and

working-class people, people of color, and

people with disabilities. People with disabilities have routinely pushed back against the effort to legalize euthanasia and assisted suicide, claiming that euthanasia risks becoming eugenic and being turned against people with disabilities.

10. Do you think that the doctrine of double effect can be used to justify abortion and euthan © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

asia?

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

Explain why or why not in each case.

Solution: The doctrine of double effect says that if you intend some good action while foreseeing that some bad action will also result, this could be justifiable. In the case of abortion, it might be applied by claiming that the intention is to help the mother, as in the case of an emergency abortion for a life-threatening pregnancy. In the case of euthanasia, it may come up with regard to ―terminal sedation,‖ giving a drug to alleviate pain, while knowing that the drug could speed up death. To evaluate this idea, you would need to decide what matters most morally: consequences or intentions. Consequentialists generally do not focus on intention and so likely find the idea of the double effect unpersuasive. For the consequentialist, what matters is whether the outcome is good or bad, causes happiness or suffering. And non-consequentialists who are concerned with intent will likely be sympathetic to the idea, especially as a way to allow for emergency abortion and the possibility of terminal sedation.

Solution and Answer Guide Mackinnon/Fiala, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 12: Biotechnology

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 61 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 62

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1.

Is there a good reason to ban the use of gene editing on humans?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to do some research and thinking about gene editing and CRISP technology, including legal issues related to bans. They may also want to do some research on He Jiankui, including watching the video he made explaining his actions, ―Designer Baby Is an Epithet‖: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qv1svMfaTWU. Students should also be encouraged to consider ethical problems, especially in the case of germ line interventions that can be inherited.

2.

Is there a moral difference between using gene editing to eliminate genetic diseases and using it to create enhancements and ―designer babies‖?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to do some research and think about the idea of ―designer babies‖ (including the fact that scientists tend to avoid the term!).

The difference here involves the question of beneficence as well as the distinction between therapy and enhancement. This is discussed throughout the chapter. Students can begin clarifying their own thinking about this distinction.

3.

Does it matter that this experiment and procedure were used on human embryos without their consent?

Talking Points: This question is about ―autonomy‖ and consent. (There are also questio

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ns

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about parental consent). Obviously, non-born humans cannot consent. But would parents or guardians have authority to decide for them? Or maybe this is a nonsensical question. The question is related to questions about abortion and infant euthanasia: who gets to decide in these cases? There is also a question about protecting the vulnerable: typically children are the focus of special protections in research. But does that make sense here?

4.

Are you worried about the impact this technology might have on the gene pool and on future generations?

Talking Points: This is about germ line interventions that could be inherited. Students may want to do some research about how this might occur. Here they may also begin thinking about the precautionary principle: how cautious should we be about unforeseen impacts on future generations? But also, if we eliminate diseases, it would be beneficial if these changes were passed on.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. What is the basic difference between a therapy and an enhancement? Explain by using an example.

Solution: Therapy returns something to normal function, while enhancement takes it beyond normal function. An example of a therapy would be a cochlear implant that allows a deaf © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

person to

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detect sounds. An example of an enhancement would be a bionic eye that allows a normally sighted person to have vision that exceeds the limits of ordinary human beings.

2. How do bioengineering and biotechnology provide opportunities for people with disabilities? How might these techniques point toward a posthuman future?

Solution: Therapeutic biotechnologies can help disabled people, as in the case of cochlear implants or brain–computer interfaces that allow paralyzed people to operate robotic arms. Basically, these technologies help achieve normal function. But as the technologies become more widespread, they may change our humanity—for example, if reproductive technologies became widely used along with genetic screening or gene editing.

3. How does your thinking about animal ethics, the ethics of abortion, and even sexual ethics connect with your thinking about the ethics of biotechnologies? What concepts overlap among these issues?

Solution: Reproductive technologies allow LGBTQ people to reproduce. Natural law may not be in favor of that. But apart from natural law, this will be viewed as beneficial. IVF produces spare embryos, which can cause a concern related to abortion if those embryos are considered persons. The same concern applies in thinking about embryonic stem cell research. With regard to animals, there are questions about research ethics, as well as questions about whether animal ―nature‖ could be transformed—or whether we ought to leave nature alone.

4. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Su

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

mmarize the arguments for and against cloning and other reproductive technologies based on the idea that it would be ―playing God‖ and would undermine human dignity.

Solution: The worry about ―playing God‖ comes from a natural law perspective. The idea of human dignity can be found in natural law and also in Kantian deontology. Opponents of cloning and other reproductive technologies (bio-conservatives) argue that it is not natural for human life to originate through scientific intervention and that we may not be wise enough to use this technology without undermining human dignity. On the other hand, proponents of these technologies including transhumanists see them as having obvious therapeutic benefits. The transhumanists also emphasize autonomy and liberty when it comes to reproduction (and sexuality).

5. Summarize the idea that cloning and/or genetic engineering might pose a threat to the clone‘s individuality and the right to an open future. Does this worry you?

Solution: A clone would be a person genetically identical to the original. This might threaten the clone‘s sense of self, since the clone would be a ―copy.‖ The other problem is that a clone would be brought into the world with a purpose (as a copy), which might mean that it ―belongs‖ to the originator or that its destiny is fixed. Natural law theorists and other bio-conservatives reject cloning for these reasons. But others argue that these worries are not significant since the clone would not be an exact duplicate (gestational and environmental differences would mean that the clone would be unique and different from the original).

6. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Ev

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

aluate the arguments regarding human cloning related to exploitation, confusion of families, and the ―yuck‖ factor of the repugnance argument.

Solution: Leon Kass claims that there is wisdom in repugnance, that is, that our experience of ―yuck‖ can inform us that a moral line has been crossed. He suggests that cloning produces this experience—for example, because the clone‘s ―twin‖ would also be its father or mother. On the other hand, defenders of biotechnological innovation argue that new technologies often start out seeming weird, but we learn to appreciate them if they are beneficial.

7. Evaluate arguments for and against genetic screening and genetic engineering of offspring.

Solution: Screening could be used to eliminate diseased embryos or to choose enhanced embryos. Genetic engineering uses CRISPR and other techniques to change the genetic code. Bio-conservatives argue that we should not tamper with nature in this way, also warning about unintended effects on individuals and on the germ line.

Transhumanists are more in favor of these techniques. This might include Savulescu and Kahane‘s idea about ―procreative beneficence,‖ which holds that screening or engineering offspring would be good for those who are created in this way. A further supportive argument comes from those who think it would be a good idea to eliminate disease from the germ line.

8. What are the ethical arguments pro and con with regard to the production and use of genetic © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

ally

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modified plants and crops?

Solution: One objection to GMOs is that there are unintended effects on human health and on the ecosystem. Another concern is the general critique of ―playing God‖ with natural organisms. On the other hand, these technologies might help us produce plentiful and nutritious food, including adapting crops as climate change and drought threaten crop yields.

9. Discuss the worry about ―velvet eugenics‖ and the idea of ―procreative beneficence.‖ Solution: Savulescu and Kahane claim that parents have an obligation of ―procreative beneficence,‖ which means we should select our offspring in a way that is optimal.

Gardner-Thomson warns that this will end up with eugenic outcomes. Unlike old coercive eugenics, this will be velvet eugenics, that is, it will not be coerced, rather it will come from free choice and a spirit of benevolence. But the outcome will eliminate disabled people. Savulescu and Kahane affirm this outcome, since their goal is to produce optimal children.

10. What concerns might we have about biotechnologies from the standpoint of justice, fairness, and equality?

Solution: Justice concerns will focus on distributions of these technologies. Typically affluent people will be able to use these technologies. This might exacerbate social divides, as rich people engineer their children and use enhancement technologies to guarantee that they are successful. On the other hand, defenders of free markets argue that the price will come © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

down

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as beneficial technologies become widespread. A related concern is that it might be more useful to focus on less exciting technologies such as eliminating malaria (a disease that afflicts poor people in the developing world) than on expensive and far-out technologies that cater to the choices of the rich.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon/Fiala, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 13: Equality and Discrimination

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 67 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 69

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. How concerned are you about racism, inequality, and social justice in the world today?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about (or research on their own—or with instructor help) facts and issues involving racial injustice, inequality, and proposals for social justice. Some details will be discussed in the chapter. But this question could be used to stimulate student thinking about these issues from their own lived experience. The George Floyd killing provides an example of police brutality and discrimination. But other cases could be researched and discussed.

2. What is the role of individual citizens—like Darnella Frazier—in responding to violations of civil © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part. rights and other

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inequalities?

Talking Points: Darnella Frazier provides one example of the importance of engaged youth. But there are dangers and possible backlash. Students might be encouraged to follow up with research on Darnella Frazier. And they might be encouraged to consider whether they would have the courage to take a video or testify in court in a case such as this. Further discussion might focus on the difference between individual action in cases like this and the need for organized movements and systematic reform.

3. Should there be reparations for past discrimination or affirmative action for members of certain racial groups?

Talking Points: Reparations and affirmative action will be discussed in the chapter , but students could be encouraged to do some preliminary research and discussion of what affirmative action programs and reparations proposals look like. They may want to link this to reparations for victims of overt discrimination and police brutality such as lawsuits that hold police departments accountable. But students should think carefully about the difference between compensation in individual cases and the more general idea of reparations for social groups. This might also be a good place to consider the issue of intersectionality (to be discussed in the chapter) and whether there are different types of racism and discrimination that affect different people in different ways in different places.

4. Are there other ways you could imagine for society to address racism, discrimination, and inequality?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to use their imaginations to think of proposals to eliminate racism and discrimination. In considering this, students should be encouraged to think about the difference between structural and institutional responses and the psychological and moral responses of individuals. This might be a good place to consider the question of whether the goal should be to adopt a ―color-blind‖ approach to this issue or whether it is better to be deliberately ―anti-racist.‖ We discuss these differences in the chapter, and that could be foreshadowed here.

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. Should differences in race, gender, or other identity categories ever be relevant to making decisions about qualified candidates for jobs or educational opportunities?

Support your answer with reference to the principle of equality.

Solution: The principle of equality states that similar things should be treated similarly, unless there is some justifiable reason for differential treatment. This question points to the question of whether discrimination can ever be justified. For example, at one point it was thought that there were some jobs that were not appropriate for women—combat duty, to cite an example we discuss in the chapter. But is that justifiable? Are there relevant differences between men and women that could affect their ability to serve in combat? At the same time, this question also points toward the controversy about affirmative action. The question there is whether past discrimination is relevant in cases of affirmative action in which similarly situated people are treated differently as a remedy for past discrimination.

2. Evaluate the idea that race is a social construction. What implications follow from that idea in thinking about racism?

Solution: The debate about the ontological status of race is ongoing. But most critical scholarship on race seems to agree that race is a social construction, which means that it is an idea that is created and supported by social institutions—and

that involves

generalizations about superficial physical features that do not indicate deeper biological differences. Of course, there are some biologically relevant differences among populati © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

ons involvin

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g inherited genetic propensities for certain diseases—so noting these kinds of differences could be beneficial (and so not racist in a pernicious sense). But generalizations about racial groups have often been used to support racist social structures. If it is true that race is a social construct, it is possible to change social structures in ways that are not racist. Some might worry that in noticing racist institutions and structure, we may end up reaffirming racialist and racist ideas. But it may be that the best way to dismantle racism is to note that race is a social construction.

3. How does the idea of intersectionality affect conversations about race and racism?

Solution: Intersectionality provides us with a lens that helps us see the complexity of identities, including the fact that different communities experience race and racism in different ways. In the chapter, we discussed issues involving the complexity of the ―Asian‖ racial category, for example. Asian (or Asian American) includes a broad range of ethnicities, cultures, and nationalities. Intersectionality helps us attend to that kind of difference. It also helps us to see that there are different kinds of discrimination and oppression. The concept was developed by feminist critical race theorists (e.g., Kimberlé Crenshaw) who were interested in highlighting the difference between the way that antiBlack racism is experienced by Black men and Black women. Other categories

may also

need to be included in order to see the general complexity of intersectionality: ability, religion, age, class, and so on.

4. Evaluate the ethics of racial profiling and hate crime legislation. Are these useful legal tools?

Solution: Racial profiling could be justified on consequentialist grounds if it were effective at preventing and deterring crime—say by targeting members of certain populations that have a tendency to commit crimes. But critics

point out that this is

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

in

fact

a racist

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approach to crime fighting that treats all members of a certain racial group as having a tendency toward criminality. The critique of racial profiling is often articulated in moral terms that focus on human rights, dignity, and equality. But it could also be criticized from a consequentialist standpoint if racial profiling contributes to ongoing racial tension—as happens, for example, in the case of police brutality that appears to have racist elements. The category of hate crime has been created in an effort to respond to crimes that are accompanied by bias (or hate). Extra punishment for hate crimes can be justified from a utilitarian standpoint if it works to prevent and deter these kinds of crimes. But some critics may complain that the idea of hate crimes provides differential treatment for criminals who engaged in similar acts. Hate crime is a category that is not only focused on race: hate crimes can occur in crimes that are motivated by religious hatred, gender bias, and so on.

5. What is ―affirmative action,‖ and why does it have this name? Why might critics argue that it is reverse discrimination? And how might a defender of affirmative action reply?

Solution: Affirmative action programs take ―affirmative‖ or positive/proactive steps to eliminate and respond to past discrimination and racism. This can include racial preferences in hiring or college admissions, and possibly also quotas. Critics of affirmative action argue that it is reverse discrimination, by which they mean that in giving preference to a previously discriminated-against racial group, a new kind of discrimination is created—only this time it is directed at the racial group that was previously privileged. Defenders of affirmative action might reply by pointing out that affirmative action programs can be understood as a way of equalizing things—or even providing a kind of compensation for past discrimination. The defender might argue on consequentialist grounds that in the long run affirmative action programs might make society © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

more equal.

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

6. Summarize the history of civil rights law, including recent affirmative action decisions.

Have we made progress in actualizing the principle of equality in the law? Why or why not?

Solution: civil rights law and affirmative action programs in the United States have evolved through a number of Supreme Court cases during the past fifty years or so.

These cases have struggled to distinguish between very proactive programs—such as quotas—and other programs that seek to encourage diversity in some general way.

Some say that society is better and more equal as a result of these programs. Critics of the programs argue that as we are becoming more equal and more ―

color-blind,‖

these programs are no longer needed. The current court is in the process of reconsidering some of the previous case law. Proponents of continued affirmation action argue that racial disparities continue to exist and that society needs to continue taking proactive steps to provide opportunities for those who suffered from past discrimination.

7. Summarize arguments for and against reparations.

Solution: Proposals for reparations aim to compensate victims of past discrimination for the harm they suffered. There have been a number of useful examples. The United States provided an apology and some compensation to victims of the Japanese internment of the 1940s. More recently, the government of Canada has offered compensation to Indigenous people who suffered harm in Canada‘s residential schools.

The argument in favor of these programs may be about justice (in a natural law, deontological, or non-consequentialist sense). That argument would claim that victims of past discrimination (or descendants of those victims) have a right to or deserve compensation. That compensation may include direct payments, grants, loans—and often a public apology. From a consequentialist standpoint, reparations programs can be justified © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

as helping

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to make society more equal. Critics claim that it is difficult to determine who deserves reparations—especially for harms from the distant past such as in the case of slavery in the

United States. Critics also claim that it is not fair to current taxpayers to be

forced to support reparations for past harms that they did not cause.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 14: Economic Justice

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 73 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 75

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. Can the idea of forgiving some student loan debt be justified?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about (or research on their own—or with instructor help) facts and issues involving student loan forgiveness plans and policies. We discuss again at the end of the chapter, but students should be encouraged to consider the issue from their own perspective and experience.

2. What do you think about the two critiques of the Biden plan: from the NAACP and from Mitch © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

McConn ell?

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

Talking Points: Make sure students understand both points: NAACP argued that it was insufficient; McConnell argued it was socialism. In the first case, it is worth thinking about racial disparities and racial wealth gap. In the second place, students should be encouraged to reflect on the meaning of socialism

—and the question about whether

student loan forgiveness is actually socialism. A key question is about ―how much?‖: how much loan forgiveness—if any—can be justified? This could lead to further research about how much debt there is, how much college costs, and so on.

3. How important is a college education in economic terms, and is it worth the cost?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to research (on their own or with instructor help) the data on economic benefits of college education. This may also involve thinking about various options: junior college, state schools, and private colleges. Students should be encouraged to discuss their own experiences and hopes for economic opportunities. They should also be encouraged to think about the social, racial, and class-based issues and difference in opportunity associated with college admissions (which also discussed in Chapter 13).

4. Can you imagine any other solutions to the problem of economic inequality and the racial wealth gap?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about and do research on other proposals for remedies for economic and racial disparities. We discuss in the chapter a number of these: minimum wage laws, living wage, forgiveness for student loans © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

(and

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other debt), private charity, public education, public health care,

and so on. Students

may have other suggestions. And they may be encouraged to find out how much these programs cost, and what their likely benefit might be.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1.

Consider the sorts of economic inequalities discussed in this chapter; are they justifiable?

Solution: Good answers will consider some of the data regarding inequality. But the point is to evaluate the data. Different theories will provide different sorts of evaluation. Students should be able to identify what socialists, libertarians, and liberals would say about these inequalities, as well as what natural law, utilitarian, and deontological theories might say. From the Chapter Summary: Libertarianism emphasizes leaving individuals alone to create and innovate and generate profit and wealth. Libertarianism is less concerned about equality than about respecting the rights of private property owners. Socialism is much more concerned with equality.

There are varieties of socialism, but generally socialists believe that the state should intervene in the economy in order to eliminate inequalities. Modern liberalism is a hybrid theory that respects liberty while also seeking to moderate inequality.

2. What is the difference between a process view of distributive justice and an end-state view? © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Solutio n: Here

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

is a solution, from the Chapter Summary: Procedural justice focuses on the fairness of processes that are employed in social systems and distributions of goods. If the procedures are fair (equitable or justice), inequalities of outcome are permitted, according to the idea of procedural difference. From this point of view, so long as there are equal opportunities, unequal outcomes may be acceptable. In opposition to this, theories of justice that are focused on ―end states‖ are interested in creating patterns of distributions, typically focused on substantive equality. When those patterns or ideal distributions become disrupted, the end-state view may encourage interventions in the economy and redistributions of wealth in order to create the ideal end state.

3. What is the meaning of equal opportunity? What criterion does James Fishkin use for judging whether it exists? What is Bernard Williams‘s ―starting-gate theory‖ of equal opportunity?

Solution: Equal opportunity is not about substantive equality (or outcomes). Rather, it is focused on providing people with a fair and equitable starting point and access to opportunities. Fishkin suggests that when there is equal opportunity, you should not be able to predict at birth what the opportunities and outcomes would be for babies born in different racial groups, social classes, and so on. Williams‘s ―starting-gate‖ idea is similar. He uses an imagined example of why competition between children of a warrior class will be at a disadvantage in competing against children who are not born in that warrior class. To equalize opportunity, the children of the warrior class may need extra training © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

,

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weapons, or other compensating advantages.

4. Describe some problems raised by philosophers Frankfurt and Schaar regarding equal opportunity.

Solution: Frankfurt suggests that inequality is not as important as ―sufficiency‖—the idea that each person has enough (i.e., that basic minimum needs are met). Schaar points out that there is a kind of natural lottery—and a ―natural aristocracy‖ that creates an unequal distribution of talent. This means that equal opportunity remains problematic—because those who have certain innate talents (or who are taller, faster, smarter, etc.) will win out in competition against those who lack such talents

.

5. What do libertarians think about liberty, equality, taxation, and the role of government— and about positive and negative rights?

Solution: Libertarians (such as Nozick, Rand, and Machan) tend to emphasize liberty over equality. They suggest that the state should stay out of the economy as much as possible—and so defend a version of laissez-faire capitalism. They may even suggest that taxation is ―forced labor,‖ as Nozick put it. Libertarians tend to focus on ―negative rights,‖ which means keeping the government out of business and the private economy. They worry that positive rights demand too much governmental interference.

6. What do socialists tend to think about liberty, equality, taxation, and the role of government—and about positive and negative rights?

Solution: Socialists focus on equality more than liberty. This is a focus on ―positive rights.‖ © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Some

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versions of socialism (Marxist communism) want a complete state-run economy that produces substantive equality. Other versions of socialism may allow for more freedom in the market. But socialists tend to agree that taxation and wealth redistribution can be justified. Some socialist proposals might include a right to work, a right to health care, and even a universal basic income.

7. What is Rawls‘s original position, and what role does it play in his derivation of principles of justice?

Solution: The original position is Rawls‘s imagined reconstruction of an ideal social contract situation—in which the contractors imagine principles and procedures of justice under the ―veil of ignorance.‖ This imagined circumstance asks us to ignore our race, gender, class, age, and so on, so that we might imagine fair principles for all. Rawls derives two principles of justice from this situation: that there should be extensive liberty/opportunity, and that inequalities should help those on the bottom end of those inequalities.

8. What is Rawls‘s ―maximin‖ principle, and how is it related to his second principle of justice?

Solution: The maximin principle holds that it is wise or rational to select an option that maximizes the best possible outcome among the worst alternatives. Rather than focusing on the best-case scenario, you imagine worst-case scenarios and select the option that results in the best of those worst possible outcomes. He uses this idea to argue © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

that the

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ideal social contractors would want to set up a social system in which those at the bottom end up with the least worse possibility. This does not require substantive equality, according to Rawls. Rather, it requires that inequalities also benefit those at the bottom.

9. How does communitarianism differ from liberalism?

Solution: Communitarianism claims that human beings are best understood not in individualistic terms, but as existing in communities that involve caring relationships and reciprocity. The social contract idea of modern liberalism (i.e., Rawls) tends to think of human beings as being self-interested and concerned with maximin rationality. But communitarians suggest that human beings are also concerned about obligations and relationships within communities and traditions.

10.

Explain how loan forgiveness, minimum wage laws, and other proposals can be justified.

Solution: Socialists tend to favor proposals that create equality and help the needy. To the extent that loan forgiveness, minimum wage laws, or proposals for universal basic income do that, they will support them. Modern liberals (in Rawls‘s sense) may favor some of these proposals if they can be justified under the two principles of justice outlined by Rawls and so make sense from the standpoint of maximin rationality.

Libertarian tend to oppose governmental interventions into the economy. We can also apply natural law theory—which may claim that the right to private property is not absolute and that we have obligations to care for the needy. Similar reasoning can be found

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

in

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Kantian deontology, which provides an argument to justify taxation to help the unfortunate. And utilitarians tend to be sympathetic to social justice projects that are effective in eliminating poverty and contributing to the general welfare.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 15: Global Justice and Globalization

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 80 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 82

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. Do high-income countries have an obligation to help low-income countries?

Talking Points: Students could be encouraged to do some research on poor and rich countries (there is some information in the chapter). The question of obligation opens a discussion of moral theory and connects to other questions of who owes what to whom.

Students might be encouraged to discuss different moral theories, including a kind of self-interest theory that refuses to help others (i.e., Hardin‘s theory as discussed in the chapter © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

). Also at issue

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is what kind of aid to give. Is it a direct handout? Or is trading with poor countries a kind of aid? That could open the conversation to issues of ethical consumerism and fair trade practices.

2. How much should you (or your country) give?

Talking Points: There are two levels of conversation here: about individual obligations and about nation-state obligations. Students could research how much in reality people and nations give as donations to the poor, and ask whether it is sufficient. Singer makes an argument about giving up to the point of marginal utility—that could be introduced here. It is also worth considering whether near neighbors have special obligations or who ―your country‖ should be helping? This is related to prior history of colonialism, as well. Do former colonizers have special obligations of aid to former colonies?

3. Do you want your tax dollars going to help strangers in foreign lands?

Talking Points: This makes it concrete for students with regard to how their taxes are spent. The aid question could be juxtaposed with other tax priorities—education, domestic welfare projects, military, and so on. At what level of income and how much tax should be spent in this way? it is also worth discussing how those ―foreign lands‖ might spend the money (and how to keep them accountable).

4. Is charity sufficient or do we need an account of global justice that requires aid?

Talking Points: The point here is to consider whether charity is extra/supererogatory, or whether aid to those in extreme poverty is morally required (as Singer might suggest © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

). It

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would be useful to encourage students to consider the nature of extreme poverty (i.e., ―poverty that kills‖). And it would be worth discussing the practical difference between optional charity and mandatory giving. But in the global justice conversation, who would enforce the obligation to give?

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. What is extreme poverty and how does it connect to the moral question of global justice?

Solution: Extreme poverty is ―poverty that kills,‖ which is currently defined as living on less than $2.15 per day. The basic concern of global justice points to the unfairness and inequity of a world in which billionaires and other affluent people live in luxury, while others die of starvation and the other afflictions of poverty.

2. What self-interested reasons can be given for doing something to remedy the situation of poor countries?

Solution: Global inequalities produce instability, which can affect those living in more affluent countries. These inequalities can lead to immigrants struggling to cross borders and may also be a contributing cause of terrorism. The secretary-general of the United Nations warned that inequality and the suffering of the poor can breed anger and resentment.

3. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Co ntrast

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Singer‘s and Hardin‘s views on how we ought to deal with poverty and famine.

Solution: Singer extends utilitarian concern globally. He suggests that affluent people have a moral duty to help those who are starving and impoverished in other countries, which means that ―charity‖ for him is obligatory. This utilitarian concern is not affected by proximity, which means that everyone who can help has an obligation to do so.

Hardin‘s point of view focuses on the well-being of nation-states. He argues that nationstates are like lifeboats with limited carrying capacities, which means that they ought not take in immigrants or worry about helping people in other countries. Using Malthusian logic, Hardin warns that if affluent nations give resources to help the poor, the population of the poor will continue to grow, which leads to worse suffering in the long run. Hardin could be interpreted as applying a kind of utilitarianism, which leads to a quite different prescription than Singer offers.

4. What is justice and what role does it play in determining what ought to be done about global poverty?

Solution: In this chapter, we discussed several versions of justice: a procedural notion of justice, justice as fairness, and end-state theories. An end-state theory might look at current distributions and claim that if there is egregious inequality, it ought to be remedied. Process-oriented ideas focus on the fairness of the procedures and rules that govern exchanges. If those procedures are (or were) unfair, they should be changed.

This theory of justice could be used to support the idea that colonial exploitation of the past © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

may

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need to be remedied.

5. Explain how the history of colonialism might be connected to current inequalities—and what should be done about that.

Solution: The affluent nations of the world are primarily those who were former colonizing nations. And the poorest nations include former colonies. Some will argue that even after colonialism formally ended with the liberation of colonies during the past couple of centuries, the inequalities and power differences that emerged from the former era continue to be reiterated. Some argue that reparations or compensation could be deserved, through which former colonizers would offer aid to former colonies.

6. What is meant by ―decolonization‖ in the context of postcolonial theorizing?

Solution: Postcolonial theories offer a broadly philosophical perspective on inequalities that exist across the globe. They argue for a need to think critically about values and identity in a postcolonial era. This theory points toward ongoing inequality, while also calling for Indigenous theories and identities to be reconceived. This could be linked to a critique of cultural imperialism, which is what happens when a dominant culture imposes itself on a local culture at that culture‘s expense. The process of decolonization would include the project of listening to Indigenous voices.

7. Why is cultural relativism a concern when thinking about global justice?

Solution: Cultural relativism is a concern because there are questions about the supposed universality of the values of modernity and the global political and economic system. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Some

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argue that there is a clash of civilizations, with Asian values, for example, clashing with Western values. The question of concern in thinking about global justice is whether there is some universal theory of human rights or global justice that can be applied without reiterating cultural imperialism and the prior structures of the colonial past.

8. Why might we think that we have an obligation to be concerned with the suffering of those in distant lands? Explain one criticism of this idea.

Solution: Singer suggests that we have a duty to suffering others based on a fundamental concern to alleviate suffering. He says that proximity does not matter.

Others may claim that there is a demand grounded in the natural law for a similar kind of concern. There may also be a self-interested concern to solve international problems such as immigration pressure. Critics may interpret self-interest differently and encourage strong borders and protectionism. Other critics may claim that charity is supererogatory and that there is no obligation to help the global poor. Finally, a different sort of critique argues that moral obligation is local and that we may have obligations to family, neighbors, or other citizens—but that those obligations do not extend to everyone.

9. Summarize the difference between globalization and global justice.

Solution: Globalization is a historical process. It is facilitated by trade, transportation, and technology. This includes cultural interactions as well as economic and political relations. The question of global justice asks normative questions about the fact of globaliz © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

ation,

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wondering whether the resulting world is fair, just, or equitable.

10. What are some moral issues to consider with regard to immigration and global justice?

Solution: The push and pull of immigration involves issues related to economics and political stability. Refugees are pushed out of their homelands—by war, economic crises, and environmental disasters. Other immigrants are pulled by the hope for better opportunities. Immigration policies may be focused on closed borders and interested in keeping immigrants out (say, in Hardin‘s ―lifeboat‖ analogy). But others will argue that compassion and justice require a proactive approach to immigrants and refugees that deals with their present suffering, while also seeking to mitigate the push and pull factors by creating more equitable conditions across the globe.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 16: Sexual Morality

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 86 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 88

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. I © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

s there

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anything wrong with pornography in general?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about some of the criticisms of pornography mentioned in the chapter opener (coercion, degradation of women, unhealthy sexuality). This could be used to open a general discussion of how sex and sexuality should be organized and controlled. It could be connected to a discussion of changing norms in our society and questions about technology, generational differences, social isolation, and so on.

2. Are you concerned about problems like sex trafficking, coercion, and images of violence and degradation in pornography?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to do some research on their own or with instructor guidance into the problem of sex trafficking (note the need for caution if doing research about pornography on the Internet). This could connect to a discussion of causality: for example, would viewing sexually violent imagery cause actual sexual violence? There are also questions about what counts as ―degradation‖ and how that connects to notions of human dignity and respect. Students could also reflect on the general problem of sexual violence and sexual harassment, and how that is connected to the growth of pornography.

3. Is the concept of ―ethical pornography‖ a good or useful idea?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about what may count as ethical pornography. They should also consider whether this is a contradiction or oxymor © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

on. This

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is connected to the words we use: is ―pornography‖ always wrong or evil (would it change things if this was called ―erotica‖?). Students may want to connect this to questions about sexual education. How do young people get information about sex? And does it matter that porn is often one way that people are ―educated‖ about sex (and what would that actually mean)? Students could also discuss the question of regulation versus prohibition, which will connect to the question of prostitution (Bentham v. Mill) that we discuss in the chapter.

4. Do you think there could in fact be ―ethical porn‖?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to reflect on the reality of there being such a thing. How would it be organized/regulated? And what would the punishment or prohibition be for nonethical porn? And what about the reality of exploitation and coercion, and the apparent availability of ―extreme‖ pornography (and what would that mean)? This might connect, as well, to questions of sexual education. How could young people be educated in a way that encourages them to avoid unethical porn? Or should this all be banned and prohibited (and not talked about)?

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS

1. What is the best approach to take with regard to sex: a hedonistic approach or an ascetic approach?

Solutio © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

n: Hedonis

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m emphasizes pleasure, while asceticism counsels self-control and abstinence. Hedonism of the sort associated with Epicurus is not full-blown libertinism. Epicurus advised moderation in pursuit of pleasure. Asceticism aims toward some higher kind of good that transcends pleasure. In order to decide which is the best approach, a student would need to define these terms and then make an argument about the best approach to living a moral life.

2. What is ―platonic friendship‖ or ―platonic love,‖ and how is that idea related to other ideas about sex and love?

Solution: Platonic friendship and platonic love are based on an ideal of nonsexual love.

Plato thought that true love and true friendship were not based on sexual relations.

Among his concerns was moving beyond a focus on pleasure and bodies toward something more spiritual. Plato‘s view of sex, sexual desire, and attraction point beyond hedonism (and libertinism) toward an ideal that transcends sex and may also be a kind of asceticism.

3. What are some factual matters that would be relevant for consequentialist arguments regarding sexual behavior?

Solution: The reality of sexually transmitted disease and pregnancy are important factual matters. It is also a matter of fact with regard to the efficacy of condoms and other forms of birth control to prevent disease and pregnancy. Consequentialists may also be interested in empirical questions about happiness, well-being, and coercion and how © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

these

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are related to questions of sex addiction, sex work, and so on. Also relevant would be questions about sexual addiction and causal theories of sexual violence.

4. According to a Kantian type of morality, we ought to respect persons. What kinds of sexual actions would be morally objectionable from this standpoint?

Solution: Kantian ethics would be opposed to rape and other forms of sex that are coercive, manipulative, and fail to respect persons. Kant extended this to a critique of homosexuality and masturbation, which he claimed were also degrading and below the dignity of human beings. If we are to employ a Kantian approach today, we may have to update his theory of sex, sexuality, and gender. Kant would also be opposed to prostitution and sex work, since it transforms sexual relations into a transaction that ―uses‖ sex as a ―means‖ for pleasure or money.

5. What are the two proper functions of sex from the natural law standpoint, and how does this apply to specific examples?

Solution: The natural law theory maintains that sex ought to be reproductive and loving: it ought to produce children and it ought to bring people together in loving relationship.

Natural law thinkers such as John Finnis claim that homosexual relations are immoral from this standpoint, as is any nonmarital form of sex. This may also include the use of birth control, which impedes the reproductive function of sex.

6. What do you think about the debate between Carole Pateman and Jessica Flanigan regarding sex work?

Solutio © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

n:

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Pateman argues against sex work (what she calls ―prostitution‖) based on a feminist argument that prostitution makes women‘s bodies available for purchase by men. She views this as a pernicious part of masculine sexuality (in a heterosexual context).

Flanigan uses the term ―sex work‖ (rather than ―prostitution‖) and argues that women (and men) should be free to use sex according to their own interests. She argues against coercive forms of sex work. But between freely consenting adults, Flanigan does not see a problem with it. Students would need to think about their opinions about feminist concerns and the importance of autonomy in evaluating this debate.

7. To what extent does the idea of ―affirmative consent‖ help respond to the problem of sexual harassment and rape?

Solution: Affirmative consent is the standard that requires ―yes‖ (and merely not saying ―no‖). This is the current standard for sexual relations in universities and businesses. It is intended to indicate clear consent (and therefore respect autonomy). It aims to eliminate subtle forms of coercion and to prevent people from taking advantage of drunk or incapacitated people. And it could be understood in connection with the general movement aiming to end sexual assault and harassment (as manifested in the recent ―#MeToo‖ movement).

8. How do arguments about homosexuality and marriage equality connect to claims about other issues involving sexual morality, equality, and social justice in general?

Solution: Society is more accepting of homosexuality, especially after key court cases such as © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Lawren

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ce v. Texas (which overturned laws prohibiting ―sodomy‖) and Obergefell v. Hodges (which legalized same-sex marriage). Now that Obergefell has passed, it is preferable to speak of ―marriage equality,‖ which indicates why this is a social justice issue—allowing for public recognition of people‘s choices of sex/marriage partnerships. Critics (such as Antonin Scalia, in his dissent to Lawrence) are not supportive of the general move toward liberation and equality for LGBTQ+ people. And John Roberts in his dissent to

Obergefell suggested that marriage equality opened a slippery slope to polygamous marriages. There is an open question about how far marriage equality and freedom of choice ought to extend, with natural law theorists arguing against these developments.

On the other hand, authors like John Corvino emphasize respect for individual liberty and choice—and a concern for the happiness of LBGTQ+ people. And the Supreme Court ruled that the law ought to respect the choices of individuals with regard to marriage, without bias against their sexual orientation.

9. What kinds of ethical and social justice issues arise in thinking about trans people?

Solution: Trans people do not conform to the ordinary/traditional categories of gender.

Often the focus is on trans men and trans women. But trans includes other concepts such as gender fluidity and the idea of a nonbinary gender identity. Some traditional/conservative people find this to be wrongheaded, insisting on a binary conception of gender—often coming to this point of view either from a religious or natural law framework. Feminists (such as J. K. Rowling) have also argued that the women‘ © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

s rights

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movement is different from trans liberation and that women continue to need safe places, without the presence of trans women. Following this kind of argument, there has been legislation seeking to restrict trans people from participating in sports or using the bathrooms and locker rooms that fit their gender identity. Trans theorists such as Loren Cannon have argued that this is based on irrational fear, while maintaining that trans people deserve the same rights as cisgender people.

10. What kinds of argument are employed in discussions of whether sex work should be legal?

Solution: Sex trafficking and other forms of coercion are significant concerns. So is the problem of disease. Some utilitarians (Bentham) argue that sex work would be safer if it were legal and regulated. But other utilitarians (Mill) suggest that sex work is degrading and should not be legal. In more recent decades, feminists have argued about the degree to which sex work (pornography and prostitution) contributes to misogyny and the degradation of women. Pateman argues that it is degrading and should be banned.

Flanigan claims that women should be free to sell themselves if that‘s what they freely choose. In the chapter, we also discussed the question of whether pornography could be made in an ethical fashion that taught good sexual hygiene and was not coercive.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/ Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 17: Punishment and the Death Penalty © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ........................................................................................................................ 94 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................... 95

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. Should marijuana be legalized or decriminalized?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about (or research on their own, or with instructor help) the difference between legalization and decriminalization.

They should be encouraged to consider arguments on all sides, including the issue of how drug criminalization contributes to incarceration rates (and possible racial disparities that result).

2. Should we be worried about high incarceration rates and racial disparities in incarceration?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about (or research on their own, or with instructor help) both current and historical incarceration rates and racial disparities (we provide some data and context in the chapter). The ethical question is whether this matters, which requires students to think about the purpose and rationale of the prison system.

3. A © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

re you

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in favor of criminal justice reform that reduces incarceration rates?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to consider past and current proposals for criminal justice and sentencing reform (including the reform of drug laws). Again, the ethics question is about the purpose and rationale of the prison system, and how thinking about that might lead one to support (or reject) concrete proposals for sentencing reform.

4. What kinds of penalties should be used to prevent drug and alcohol abuse, addiction, and driving under the influence of drugs and alcohol?

Talking Points: The framing of this question assumes that there is a ―penalty‖ involved. Students might be encouraged to research current penalties for DUI and other drug- and alcohol-related crimes and infractions. Note that we include alcohol here: students might be encouraged to think about past efforts at prohibition, as well as the problem of alcohol abuse (in addition to or in comparison with drug prohibition and abuse). It would be worth considering whether drug and alcohol addiction and abuse are best understood as medical concerns or as concerns of the criminal justice system.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. What essential characteristics of legal punishment distinguish it from other types of punishment?

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Sol ution:

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Legal punishment involves a sanction, penalty, or punishment that is enforced by a legal and political structure. This is supposed to be administered by a system—the criminal justice system—that involves explicit laws, prescribed punishments, and procedures and policies for administering the law. This is different from punishment that occurs in families, which is more informal. And it shows us what is wrong with lynching and other extrajudicial acts of violence including revenge.

2. What is the significance of the idea of decarceration, and what is the goal of critics of mass incarceration?

Solution: Decarceration is the policy or idea aiming at ending the system of mass incarceration. It may include a call to abolish prisons (cf. Angela Davis). A central issue here is whether it makes sense to have large numbers of people in prison or under court supervision. Proponents of decarceration argue that there is something perverse about a system of mass incarceration and that sentencing reform and other kinds of criminal justice reform ought to aim to reduce prison populations.

3. What is the difference between the mechanisms of deterrence and prevention? Given their meanings, does the death penalty prevent murders? Deter would-be killers? How? Solution: Prevention is about concrete steps that are taken to stop a criminal from committing a crime, such as locking up someone before they can commit a crime.

Deterrence is more general and vague, aimed at deterring people from contemplating crime. Utilitarians may support the death penalty as a deterrent (cf. Mill). However, there are © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

dispute

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s about the deterrent value of the death penalty, with most experts agreeing that the contemporary death penalty has very little if any deterrent value. One problem has to do with the psychology of would-be criminals, especially would-be murderers. It may be that would-be murderers are not afraid of dying, think they won‘t get caught, or that they have some mental defect that prevents them from thinking rationally about the risk of punishment.

4. If legal punishment works as a deterrent for murder, how does it work? For whom would it work? How might the death penalty be constructed so it has a deterrent effect?

Solution: It would likely work for rational would-be killers who are weighing the pros and cons of their actions. A rational would-be killer would consider the severity of the punishment, the likelihood of getting caught, and so on. A significant problem for the deterrent argument with regard to the contemporary death penalty is that a death sentence is very unlikely. For the death penalty to work as a deterrent it would need to be more certain and possibly more public—so that would-be killers are more likely to consider the possibility of being executed.

5. How do the retributivist arguments differ from the deterrence arguments with regard to the death penalty?

Solution: Retributivist arguments focus on desert. They tend to come from a standpoint of natural law or deontology. The idea of lex talionis requires ―eye for eye, life for life.‖ This is a clear justification of the death penalty. This approach is not necessarily interested in deterre © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

nce or

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other outcomes of the death penalty (since it is a non-consequentialist approach).

6. Explain the idea of restorative justice and the possibility of alternatives to incarceration.

Solution: Restorative justice aims to repair harm, reconcile victims and offenders, and restore communities that are disrupted by crime. This can include alternatives to incarceration—such as community service—that actively work to rehabilitate criminals and help them to take responsibility and make amends.

7. What is the lex talionis view of punishment? How does it differ from the proportional view?

Solution: The lex talionis idea of retributive justice sets up an equivalence: eye for eye, life for life. This is often understood as both a minimum (at least this much punishment) and a maximum (no more than this amount of punishment). A proportional interpretation of retributive justice attempts to deal with the problem that strict equivalences can seem harsh and impractical (how do we punish rape, for example, in the lex talionis view?). The proportional approach sets up some system of proportional responses to criminal acts, such as a number of years in prison or a fine as a punishment.

8. Discuss the arguments for and against the identification of retributivism with revenge.

Solution: Retributivism is typically not understood as revenge. Revenge is an emotional response to harm that can sometimes be excessive. Revenge is also personal. Retributivism is supposed to be impartial and not emotional, and so retributive justice is typically administered by courts or some disinterested party. But critics of retributivism may suggest that it © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

is just

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another form of revenge, as society taking revenge on criminals.

9. Why is the notion of responsibility critical to the retributivist view of legal punishment?

How does the insanity defense fit in here?

Solution: Retributivism typically holds that criminals deserve to be punished (desert is a key idea in retributivism) because they are responsible for the acts they have committed. This idea of responsibility depends on some account of free will, which assumes that the criminal knew what they were doing was wrong and chose to do it anyway. The insanity defense can be used in response to this model by arguing that the accused criminal did not know what they were doing or that they were not otherwise free and responsible at the time the crime was committed.

10. What is the significance of racial disparities in thinking about the system of punishment?

Solution: There are fairly obvious racial disparities in incarceration in the United States— and also in the death penalty. Some may argue that if members of certain racial groups commit more crimes, these disparities can be explained and justified. But most critics agree that the explanation also includes the problem of structural racism in the criminal justice system, which has to do with problems like racial profiling (cf. Alexander). As Alexander explains, racial disparities help to create a system that disenfranchises and oppresses people, which she calls ―the new Jim Crow.‖

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Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/ Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 18: Peace, Violence, and War

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ...................................................................................................................... 100 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................. 102

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1.

What is the best moral response to wars such as Russia‘s invasion of Ukraine?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about (or research on their own, or with instructor help) the causes of the war in Ukraine. Students should also be encouraged to consider other recent wars, even including a comparison with the U.S. invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq during the war on terrorism (as discussed in what follows in this chapter). A key issue here is to think about ―just causes‖ for war (as defined by just war theory). Also, students may want to consider whether the United States and others should supply weapons to Ukraine and related questions about other conflict

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s. This questio

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n can be used as a preliminary discussion of realist, pacifist, and just war thinking about war.

2.

Did Russian commit war crimes (and what counts as a war crime)?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about (or research on their own, or with instructor help) the idea of war crimes and events on the ground in Ukraine (and in other conflicts). The idea war crime is connected to just war theory and international law, as discussed in the chapter.

3.

How can war crimes be prosecuted and punished?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about (or research on their own, or with instructor help) about how war crimes are prosecuted and punished under international law (we do discuss this in the chapter that follows). There are also questions to be considered about responses to war crimes: does the existence of war crimes justify war in response, and how might these crimes be prevented? The issue of war crimes can be extended to thinking about a variety of other cases and examples, including the U.S.-led war on terrorism.

4.

How can we prevent future wars?

Talking Points: This question asks students to use their imagination about constructing a more peaceful future. What would it look like and how likely is it that we could create a more peaceful world? There is a connection here to pacifism, which offers some idealistic notions about a world beyond war. But just war theory is also concerned with

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this

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question (sometimes connected to the jus post bellum idea of creating a just and lasting peace after war. FYI: This is not discussed in the present chapter). And realists are also interested in this question, although they may suggest a structure of deterrence and balance of power as part of the solution.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1.

Why is the just war theory considered a middle path between realism and pacifism?

Solution: Realists think moral judgment does not apply in war, while pacifists think that war cannot be justified. Just war theory is often situated in the middle. Unlike pacifism, just war theory accepts that some wars can be justified. But unlike realism, just war theory imposes moral constraints on warfare.

2.

What arguments can be made in defense of pacifism?

Solution: Some religious pacifists argue against war on the basis of claims about love (in Christianity) or ahimsa (in Gandhian and South Asian traditions). Others argue that war is not effective (consequentialist) or on deontological grounds that war is simply wrong or evil. Related claims can be made about the effectiveness of nonviolence or the imperative to act nonviolently.

3.

What kinds of nonviolent strategies might be employed in social protest movements?

Solution: The Gandhi–King–Lawson movement includes strategies of nonviolence familiar from

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the America

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n Civil Rights Movement and the Indian liberation movement. This includes strikes, embargoes, and boycotts. It may also include civil disobedience. In Gandhi‘s philosophy this is known as satyagraha, which can mean ―truth force‖ or ―love force.‖ 4.

Why might someone suggest that war can be used in pursuit of peace or justice?

Solution: The just war theory makes this kind of argument. Grotius said it in his writing.

The idea is that injustice must be responded to with war if necessary, and that threats to the peace must be prevented and combatted. The idea also points to the goal of war, which ought to be peace or justice.

5.

List and explain the basic principles of jus ad bellum and jus in bello. Apply these principles to a recent war.

Solution: Jus ad bellum includes just cause, legitimate authority, proportionality, right intention, and last resort. Jus in bello includes proportionality, discrimination, and a ban on intrinsically evil means. This can be applied to recent examples in various ways. In the Ukraine war, for example, just war theory will tend to hold, as Michael Walzer explained in the passage quoted in the text, that Ukraine has a just cause to fight against Russian aggression. Walzer also suggests that Russia had failed to discriminate between combatants and noncombatants. Other examples are discussed throughout the text and can be imagined from some research about recent conflicts.

6.

How might just war principles be applied to issues such as targeted assassination and war crimes?

Solutio

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n: Just

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war theory may be reluctant to affirm targeted assassination, since it seems to spread violence far from the battlefield. But the use of drones and other limited kinds of attacks (e.g., by special forces) might be justified as more proportional and discriminate than an invasion or some other kind of attack (such as aerial bombardment). Just war theory also helps to explain the idea of war crimes. One type of crime, aggression, is a crime against the peace, and it provides a classic example of a just cause for war. Within war there are also war crimes involving the use of illegal weapons, torture, rape, and deliberate killing of noncombatants. These crimes typically violate principles of jus in bello, including the principle of discrimination and the ban on actions that are ―evil in themselves‖ (mala in se).

7.

Can terrorism or torture be justified? On what grounds? What would pacifists, just war theorists, and realists each say?

Solution: Terrorism and torture are typically prohibited by just war theory. Terrorism deliberately attacks noncombatants, and so violates the principle of discrimination. Torture is often included among those actions that are evil in themselves. Pacifists would obviously reject both torture and terrorism as unjustifiable violence. Realists may be more sympathetic to torture and to terrorism if these activities work. This shows that those who support terrorism and torture will often appeal to consequentialist reasoning.

8.

How does the principle of double effect apply in just war thinking?

Solution: The principle of double effect is used to allow for or explain away ―collateral damage‖ that occurs when noncombatants are killed as an unintended (accidental) second

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ary

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effect of a legitimate war aim. For example, if a bomb is aimed at a legitimate enemy target but some noncombatants wander into targeted area, this could be justified by claiming that the original target was justifiable and that the noncombatants killed were killed accidentally or unintentionally. Pacifists typically reject this kind of moral justification.

9.

What counts as a ―war crime‖ or a ―crime against humanity‖? And what is the problem of victor‘s justice?

Solution: War crimes are actions that violate basic principles of jus in bello. They include abuse of prisoners, torture, the use of rape, and indiscriminate killing. Crimes against humanity involve actions taken in war that include genocide, ethnic cleansing, and other criminal activities such as slavery, sexual abuse and exploitation, and so on. The problem of victor‘s justice indicates the fact that the victors often accuse those they have defeated of war crimes and crimes against humanity. This indicates a one-sided and biased application of the idea. Realists may use this as an argument about the need for victory.

The problem can be resolved by supporting unbiased international institutions that prosecute war crimes.

10. How might the concepts of this chapter be used to evaluate some current issues involving peace, nonviolent protest, and violence: for example, social justice protests, school shootings, structural violence, or domestic violence?

Solution: Advocates of nonviolence such as James Lawson, Mohandas K. Gandhi, and Martin Luther King, Jr. argued that social protest ought to be nonviolent. Gandhi called his idea of © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

nonviol

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ent protest satyagraha (truth force or love force). The advocates of nonviolence argue that this is morally superior and that it can be effective. There are deep problems involving violence that go beyond a discussion of war. School shootings and other acts of ―domestic terrorism‖ are one of these problems. The concepts of this chapter would condemn this kind of violence. Pacifists reject all violence, while just war theory holds that random (indiscriminate) killing is evil. Structural violence is a related problem, which reminds us that there is a difference between direct/overt violence and other kinds of violence that are less overt or direct. This might include structures that perpetuate and support domestic violence. Pacifists help to articulate a vision of positive peace that might move us beyond structural violence.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala, Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 19: Environmental Ethics

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ...................................................................................................................... 106 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................. 109

WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1 © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

.

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Do present generations have a duty to reduce carbon emissions for the benefit of future generations?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about (or research on their own, or with instructor help) the meaning of carbon emissions and how this relates to climate change. But the primary focus of this question is the moral question of a duty to future generations. Is there such a duty? How is it related to other duties (say to unborn fetuses)? In introducing topics to be considered in this chapter, students should be encouraged to think about the source of moral concern about climate change (and how concern for future generations connects to the topic of ―environmental justice‖ and is related to ―anthropocentric‖ concerns).

2.

Are you concerned about the damage that a changing climate might inflict on nonhuman nature, including the risk of mass extinctions?

Talking Points: Unlike the previous question, which asks about an anthropocentric concern for future generations of human beings, this questions is about non-anthropocentric concerns. Students should be encouraged to think about (or research on their own, or with instructor help) how climate change will affect nonhuman species. But the focus here is on a moral question of whether these nonhuman impacts matter.

3.

What kinds of things should people (including yourself) do to prevent and mitigat

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e the

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risk of climate change?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to think about personal steps that could be taken to limit climate change (students could research on their own, or with instructor help), including driving less, consuming fewer plastics, eating lower on the food chain, using less heating and cooling, etc. Students should be encouraged to think about trade-offs between short-term self-interest and long-term well-being in a way that connects back to the chapter on egoism (Chapter 4) and that connects to the ―tragedy of the commons‖ as discussed toward the end of the present chapter.

4.

Is individual action enough or do we also need a systematic and structural approach to climate change?-And what kinds of ethical ideas might help to support structural change at the international level?

Talking Points: Climate change is a global, structural problem. Students should be encouraged to reflect on the difficulty of creating and enforcing international agreements about climate change (which is discussed in the present chapter).

They should be encouraged to do some research on their own—or with instructor help—regarding international proposals regarding carbon-dioxide levels, sustainable development, and how such mechanisms might work. The ethical question is about moral frameworks that might help us make sense of this. This should involve the concepts and distinctions discussed in the present chapter: anthrop

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ocentris

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m, environmental justice, ecocentrism, and so on.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. What is the difference between intrinsic and instrumental value? Give an example of each.

Solution: Things with intrinsic value have value in themselves, apart from their usefulness (for us); instrumental values are values understood in relation to human usages (and so are usually understood in relation to anthropocentrism). ―Ecosystem services‖ is an idea connected to instrumental value—and to anthropocentrism. Intrinsic value is typically non-anthropocentric. When a tree is viewed as wood and pulp, this is instrumental; when a tree is seen as having value in itself apart from these human uses, this is intrinsic value.

2. What is anthropocentrism? How is it different from ecocentrism?

Solution: Anthropocentrism literally means ―human centered.‖ It is concerned with the impact of environmental issues on human interests. Pollution, for example, can be understood as an anthropocentric problem insofar as it has negative impacts on human health. Ecocentrism is focused on non-anthropocentric orientation that considers the impact of environmental issues on nature and natural objects considered in themselves (and apart from human interests). Pollution, from the standpoint of ecocentrism, is a proble © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

m that has

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adverse impacts on nonhuman things: fish, animals, plants, ecosystems, and so on.

3. How do cost–benefit analyses function in environmental arguments? Give an example of an environmental problem today and how cost–benefit analysis could be used to analyze it.

Solution: Cost–benefit analysis tends to be useful from within an anthropocentric point of view. With regard to pollution, there are ―benefits‖ from pollution understood in relation to the goods and services that human beings enjoy but that cause pollution. For example, in the production of automobiles and in their use (burning fossil fuels), pollution is produced. But the environmental costs of automobiles must be balanced in terms of the benefit produced by the automobile.

4. Explain how the concept of environmental justice can be used to provide a critical analysis of the impact of pollution.

Solution: Environmental justice focuses on social impacts of environmental issues, typically beginning from the fact of oppression and inequality. The impact of pollution typically lands with more weight on those who are marginalized and disenfranchised, that is, poor people, people of color, and people in the developing world. At the same time, the affluent consumers who enjoy the benefits of industrial production typically do not suffer from the adverse impact of pollution to the same extent as poor people do.

This appears to be unfair—or unjust.

5. What is Aldo Leopold‘s basic principle for determining what is right and wrong in environ © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

mental

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matters?

Solution: Leopold‘s ―land ethic‖ focuses on the integrity of the land (and also on soils, watersheds, ecosystems, etc.). His idea is holistic. He suggests that things are right when they help to support the integrity, stability, and beauty of the biotic community; things are wrong when they undermine these goods.

6. Analyze the critical perspective of Indigenous people and controversies about racism in the conservation movement.

Solution: Indigenous peoples are often viewed as having an ecocentric worldview that is focused on respect for ―Mother Earth.‖ Winona LaDuke was cited as a proponent of that point of view. Indigenous approaches do not see ―wilderness‖ as devoid of people (unlike some versions of deep ecology). The early conservation movement tended to focus on wild nature that had been emptied of native peoples. We cited Muir and Audubon as having racist ideas. The contemporary environmental movement is critically revisiting these earlier voices.

7. What is deep ecology? According to this view, what are the root causes of our environmental problems?

Solution: Deep ecology is an ecocentric (and non-anthropocentric) idea. It tends to be critical of prevailing Western, capitalist worldviews, including our tendency to view human beings as separate from nature. Deep ecology offers a different approach to the world, one focused on a holistic understanding of the human place within nature. The cause © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

of

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current problems is located in religions, political systems, economies, and philosophical ideas that celebrate atomic individualism, profit-taking, and domination of nature.

8. Explain how ecofeminism could be used to analyze a problem such as the adverse impacts of pollution on poor people.

Solution: Ecofeminists argue that there is a connection between human domination of nature and male domination of females. They also often extend their critical perspective to include the history of colonialism and the exploitation of the poor and people of color, claiming that environmental problems are caused by this kind of social inequality. The problems of environmental injustice, when viewed from the standpoint of ecofeminism, are understood as in connection with the general problem of domination, inequality, and oppression.

9. What is the problem of the tragedy of the commons, and how is it connected to capitalism and the idea of property rights?

Solution: The tragedy of the commons occurs when self-interested people pursue their own self-interest without restraint and without concern for the common good. This problem seems to appear in laissez-faire versions of capitalism, which focus only on the right of property owners to do what they want with their property. The problem is that if each property owner develops their resources (and creates pollution) without regard for common resources, each will end up with worse outcomes than if there were regulations or cooperation with regard to ―the commons.‖ 10. © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

Ho

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w are conflicts in environmental ethics connected to questions of global justice?

Solution: Pollution and exploitation of the environment have contributed to the domination of the developed world at the expense of the developing world. There are remaining conflicts in thinking about global justice and economic development.

Developing countries want to be able to exploit their resources, but this comes into conflict with the emerging need to restrain growth. This is an issue that Guha touches on, which involves the domination of the environmental ethics discourse by voices from the developed world. Garrett Hardin also touches on this with his ―lifeboat‖ metaphor that sees the world as involved in competition for survival. A global concern for environmental justice would offer a critique of the lifeboat metaphor by emphasizing the needs of people in the developing world.

Solution and Answer Guide Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 20: Animal Ethics and Beyond

TABLE OF CONTENTS What Do You Think? ...................................................................................................................... 114 Review Exercises Solutions ............................................................................................................. 116

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WHAT DO YOU THINK? 1. Is hunting or ―free-range‖ meat preferable to the meat produced by factory farming?

Why? Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to make an argument, rather than merely expressing an opinion. To do so, they may want to engage in some preliminary research (either on their own or with instructor help) regarding ―factory farming,‖ ―freerange‖ meat, and hunting. Their argument should be based in some larger ethical and/or metaphysical theory—that‘s essential to the ―why‖ question. For example, students might think that animals don‘t have souls and so are not worthy of moral consideration; or students may agree with a kind of non-anthropocentric utilitarianism.

The instructor might note (as we explain in the chapter) that ―factory farming‖ can be viewed as a pejorative term that loads the question (but we use it here because it will probably be familiar to students).

2. What ethical rules and regulations ought to govern hunting and animal agriculture?

Talking Points: Students may want to do a bit of preliminary research (either on their own or with instructor help) about the kinds of regulations that do apply. (FYI: We discuss some of this in the chapter.) If they are vegetarians, they should be encouraged to think about the question of whether these regulations are still needed in a world in which there are hunters and meat eaters, or whether they really think that hunting and meat © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

eating

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should be abolished. Among the issues that students might want to think about are hunting/fishing licensing and kill/catch limits; the need for healthy and safe food; the problem of overpopulation of animals; and issues regarding pollution and waste from animal agriculture.

3. Are the vegans and vegetarians right that it would be better to eat less meat or to stop eating meat entirely?

Talking Points: Students should be encouraged to do some preliminary research (either on their own or with instructor help) about the varieties of vegetarianism (pescatarian, lacto-ovo vegetarian, etc.) and about the kinds of commitments found in veganism. If students are vegan/vegetarian, they should be encouraged to think about the question of whether this should be commanded/legislated for others or whether it is merely an individual choice (also, whether it is supererogatory). The meat-eating students should be encouraged to make reasonable arguments against vegan/vegetarianism, meaning they should try to understand the veg. argument and then explain which ideas/premises are flawed.

4. What kinds of animals is it acceptable to hunt, to farm, and to eat?

Talking Points:: Here students should be encouraged to think broadly about the range of animals (from snails and crickets to chimpanzees and elephants). One issue that may arise here has to do with cultural differences about what people will and won‘t eat. They should be encouraged to ask whether these cultural differences point to any deeper moral © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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At some point, it might be worth mentioning that human beings are animals and ask the question of how cannibalism factors into their thinking. Finally, it might be worth pointing to the last section of the present chapter, where we consider extraterrestrial life. Would it be OK to eat an E.T.? Would it be OK for the E.T. to eat us? That should prompt some fun discussion, but make sure that there are basic principles under discussion and not merely a fun excursion into science fiction.

REVIEW EXERCISES SOLUTIONS 1. In your view, is it acceptable to hunt animals? If yes, then which animals: bears, wolves, elephants, or whales? Does the method matter? Is trapping or aerial hunting acceptable? Justify your answers using concepts from this chapter.

Solution: Students should make a distinction with regard to both the matter (hunting/eating meat) and the method (how it occurs) that is grounded in some theory or set of criteria that explains which animals can be hunted and how the hunting ought to proceed. Some of the concepts to be employed include anthropocentrism vs. nonanthropocentrism, animal welfare vs. animal rights, and some claims about the importance of sentience, pain/pleasure, intelligence, and so on.

2. What counts as cruelty to animals? What‘s wrong with cruelty to animals?

Solution: Good answers should provide a clear definition of ―cruelty‖ and might also include © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

some conside

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ration of how this occurs and with regard to which kinds of animals. There is a continuum here: from the treatment of animals in labs and on farms to dog fighting, rodeos, and neglect of family pets. A good answer should include some discussion of Kant‘s concern that when people are cruel to animals, they may end up being cruel to other humans. Students may also want to include some details about anti-cruelty legislation (we have some of this in the chapter, but there may be rules/regulations that are local or specific to certain circumstances not mentioned in the text, say rodeos or bullfighting).

3. What do you think about the fact that certain cultures practice hunting and fishing?

Does cultural heritage matter in thinking about hunting whales, dolphins, and other animals?

Solution: In the chapter we discussed the example of the Makah tribe and its quest to resume whale hunting, which is opposed by the Sea Shepherd organization. Cultural claims about hunting and fishing are anthropocentric. To focus on cultural heritage is to focus on human concerns/interests. But an organization like Sea Shepherd may have a more non-anthropocentric point of view. Good answers to this question will explore the idea of culture as an anthropocentric concern that may be at odds with a nonanthropocentric concern for nonhuman animals.

4. List some anthropocentric reasons for protecting individual animals and/or endangered animal species.

Solutio © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

n:

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Good answers should include some of the following: human interest in healthy animals for eating; human concern for the well-being of domesticated/companion animals (e.g., seeing-eye dogs that help human beings); animals as human property (and profit). With regard to endangered species, this might have some connection with more general environmental concerns (i.e., the health of an ecosystem is good for human beings).

There may also be an anthropocentric concern in profiting from endangered species, say through ecotourism or high-cost hunting expeditions that bring revenue to game parks.

5. Do animals have interests, feel pleasure, and experience pain? Are these interests, pains, and pleasures worth ―equal consideration‖? Is it ―speciesist‖ to ignore or downplay animal experience?

Solution: This question points to an analysis based on concepts associated with Peter Singer. Students should define the relevant concepts including ―equal consideration‖ (which is NOT the same as substantive equality) and ―speciesism‖ (an unjustified preference for members of your own species). Students should also affirm some claim about the topic—that is, they should declare whether they think animals have interests or feel pleasure/pain, and what evidence they have for thinking so. It is also worth noting that this approach tends to be a utilitarian one, and that equal consideration may still allow for some limited usages of animals as an outcome of a non-anthropocentric utilitarian calculation.

6. What is the meaning of the term rights? Does it make sense to apply this term to animals © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

? Why

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or why not?

Solution: Student should provide some definition of ―rights‖ connected to concepts discussed, such as the idea that individual animals are ―subjects of life‖ (cf. Regan).

They should also consider some of the following: whether a being needs to ―claim‖ or understand its rights in order to have them; whether reciprocity is needed; and whether rights are definitive trump cards that prevent harm, or whether there can be trade-offs of rights. Given a student‘s definition of rights, they then need to show that some animals have these rights. This might include some distinctions among animals: maybe elephants have rights (as discussed in the chapter) but snails do not. Those distinctions should be grounded in some definition of rights and in some account of the animal in question.

7. Evaluate moral arguments in defense of vegetarianism. Are these arguments persuasive?

Solution: Moral arguments in defense of vegetarianism should be distinguished from health reasons for vegetarianism. Good answers will also distinguish among types of vegetarianism (especially veganism). This should also probably include some account of the ―abolition v. reform‖ question. It may also include some discussion of the question of the kind of normative force of the vegetarian argument: does it require that all people stop eating meat or is it a supererogatory duty?

8. Do animal species have moral standing of some sort, or is the value of an animal found in its © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

individu

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

al life? And how might that question guide our thinking about hunting and endangered species?

Solution: This points to questions about the preservation of endangered species and about harvesting animals for the well-being of the herd. Animal rights advocates tend to focus on the rights of individual animals, which is related to the individual animal‘s experience, capacities, dignity, and worth. But species also have a kind of value. Good answers will recognize this issue. Thus we might have an obligation to save the last member of an endangered species, both because the animal has value as an individual and because the animal is a representative of the species. Some argument is needed to sort that out. With regard to hunting, the question is whether some animals can be killed (sacrificed, culled, harvested . . . the language includes some moral evaluation) in order to control the population of the herd/species.

9. What reasons do supporters give for using nonhuman animals in experimental research?

What objections to this practice do their opponents raise? Be sure your answer makes reference to issues such as the extent and purpose of pain.

Solution: Good answers should include some specificity regarding the kinds of goods to be obtained from animal research, as well as the risk of pain and suffering for the animals involved A good answer from an anthropocentric perspective may make an argument similar to that of Bonnie Steinbock, who claims there is nothing wrong with preferring members of your own species. A different answer, associated with Peter Singer, © 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

will

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Solution and Answer Guide: Fiala/Mackinnon, Ethics: Theory & Contemporary Issues, 10th Edition, 2024, 9780357798539, Chapter 1: Ethics and Ethical Reasoning

claim that that idea is ―speciesist.‖ Good answers may also reflect on the ―reform v. abolish‖ problem. On the side of the reformists is the concept we‘ve described here as ―the three R‘s‖: reduce, replace, and refine. Abolitionists will find that reformist idea to be inadequate10. escribe and defend your thinking about the general value of nonhuman beings—including nonhuman animals and even extraterrestrial life and sentient computers. What are your basic criteria for thinking that a being is a ―moral patient‖?

Solution: Good answers will provide some account of the criteria for being an object of moral concern (= a moral patient). Whatever the criteria that are argued for, the student should then apply to animals, extraterrestrials, and AI. Some of this will be hypothetical, for example, with regard to E.T. and AI. But with regard to nonhuman terrestrial animals, students should be able to state some definitive conclusions. Those conclusions should rest on both an account of the criteria for being a moral patient and some detail about the specific capacities of particular animals. Students may also be encouraged to extend this to think about fetuses, brain-dead humans, and other socalled ―marginal cases.‖

© 2024 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.

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