Judith Jarvis Thomson a Defense of Abortion Essay Example

Judith Jarvis Thomson: a Defense of Abortion Paper Judith Jarvis Thomson: A Defense of Abortion – CRITICAL EXPOSITION The goal of Judith Jarvis Thomson in her defense of abortion is to sway the ideas of those who are against abortion by challenging the arguments they give for thinking so. She begins by stating a premise. â€Å"For the sake of the argument† a human embryo is a person. This premise is one of the arguments most opponents of abortion use, but as she points out, isn’t much of an argument at all. These people spend a lot of their time dwelling on the fact that the fetus is a person and hardly any time explaining how the fetus being a person has anything to with abortion being impermissible. In the same breath, she states that those who agree with abortion spend a lot of their time saying the fetus is in fact not a person. Either way, no argument is really formed. No reasons are given. For sake of challenging an actual argument, she is disregarding this issue. With this premise out of the way, she addresses the basic argument the pro-choice campaign believes. â€Å"Every person has a right to life. We will write a custom essay sample on Judith Jarvis Thomson: a Defense of Abortion specifically for you for only $16.38 $13.9/page Order now We will write a custom essay sample on Judith Jarvis Thomson: a Defense of Abortion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer We will write a custom essay sample on Judith Jarvis Thomson: a Defense of Abortion specifically for you FOR ONLY $16.38 $13.9/page Hire Writer So the fetus has a right to life. No doubt the mother has a right to decide what shall happen in and to her body; everyone would grant that. But surely a person’s right to life is stronger and more stringent than the mother’s right to decide what happens in and to her body, and so outweighs it. So the fetus may not be killed; an abortion may not be performed. † The remainder of her paper is a series of analogies meant to challenge the basic argument mention above. When looking at the analogies separately, they are in no way related to the abortion topic, but the conclusions drawn from each can be applied. Because these examples aren’t directly related to the debate, our emotions won’t necessarily be involved and we can clearly think about what is the â€Å"right† thing to do for each specific scenario. To begin, we’re given the following analogy. You have been kidnapped. When you wake up, you find yourself connected to a famous violinist who needs your kidney. You are the only one who can save him, and in order to do so you must stay connected to him for 9 months. Most would agree â€Å"unplugging† yourself from this dying violinist would be wrong, but you didn’t consent to helping this man so you don’t necessarily hold an obligation to save him. This analogy is laid in comparison to pregnancy due to rape with the intention to challenge the basic argument opponents of abortion hold. The woman doesn’t ask to be raped, and therefore doesn’t ask for the child. There is no consent involved whatsoever. Therefore, the baby’s right to life isn’t enough to obligate the mother to save it. The conclusion drawn from this analogy is that the violinist’s right to life does not give the violinist a right to your body; similarly, the baby’s right to the life doesn’t give the baby a right to your body. This proves the basic argument wrong because the child’s right to life doesn’t outweigh the mother’s. The next analogy is given to back up a situation where there is a risk on the mother’s life if she is to carry the baby to term. This analogy is challenging the more extreme view held by those in opposition to abortion. This view finds abortion â€Å"impermissible even to save the mother’s life. † Imagine a woman has become pregnant and in the same day learns of a newly developed heart disease that will kill her if she carries her baby to term. The baby has a right to life, but so does the woman. Thomson brings up the argument most familiar. â€Å"Performing the abortion would be directly killing the child, whereas doing nothing would not be killing the mother, but letting her die. † The conclusion that is drawn from this scenario is that your own right to life gives you the moral right to â€Å"unplug† yourself if your life is threatened. Equally, if there is a risk of the mother dying, she has a right to end the pregnancy in order to save herself. It cannot be considered murder to kill someone in order to save yourself. This analogy shows the extreme view to be false. To further weaken the extreme view, Thomson addresses the argument against third parties. She believes that, just a like a woman having the right to choose to save her life, a third party should be able to choose if he/she want to assist. The next issue is, in Thomson’s opinion, the most important question in the abortion debate; that is, what exactly does a right to life bring about? The premise that â€Å"everyone has a right to life, so the unborn person has a right to life† suggests that the right to life is â€Å"unproblematic,† or straight-forward. We know that isn’t true. Thomson gives an analogy involving Henry Fonda. You are sick and dying and the touch of Henry Fonda’s hand will heal you. Even if his touch with save your life, you have no right to be â€Å"given the touch of Henry Fonda’s cool hand. † A stricter view sees the right to life as more of a right to not be killed by anybody. Here too troubles arise. In the case of the violinist, if we are to â€Å"refrain from killing the violinist,† then we must basically allow him to kill you. This contradicts the stricter view. The conclusion Thomson draws from this analogy is â€Å"that having a right to life does not guarantee having either a right to be given the use of or a right to be allowed continued use of another person’s body—even if one needs it for life itself. † This argument again proves the basic argument wrong. The right to life isn’t as clear of an argument as I’m sure opponents of abortion would like it to be or believe it is. Similarly, the following analogy brings up another problem with the right to life argument. Just because something ought to happen a certain way doesn’t necessarily create a right to it. Thomson uses the following analogy to discuss this issue. Two brothers are given a box of chocolates and one brother refuses to give any to the other brother. It would be unfair for the one brother to not give the other his share of the chocolates. The refusal to share is indecent and unjust. Thomson states â€Å"to deprive someone of what he has a right to is to treat him unjustly. † The brothers and the chocolate show this, but on the contrary if in the violinist scenario, you learn that instead of 9 months, you are to spend 9 years plugged into him, you aren’t being unjust because you gave him no right to your kidneys; you were kidnapped. When looking at the story of the Good Samaritan, it seems right that we all should be Minimally Decent Samaritans, but even then the rights of one person don’t generate a requirement of a personal sacrifice or obligation. When applying this logic to the violinist, if you were only required to be attached to him for an hour, you would be considered self-centered and horrible if you refused, but you wouldn’t be depriving the violinist of his right to your body because he still has none. Because of this, the argument must be adjusted. The right to life consists not in the right not to be killed, but rather in the right not to be killed unjustly. † This analogy again proves the basic argument wrong, for even with the adjustment accepted, the argument doesn’t show that the fetus’s rights are violated by being killed because there is question as to what gives the unborn person such a right to use the mother’s body for food and shelter. This opens th e door for another analogy; the limits of personal responsibility. Most would agree that a woman who indulges in sex chooses to do so knowing the risks involved. Therefore, she is responsible for the consequences. Thomson questions whether this responsibility indeed gives the unborn child the right to use the woman’s body. If this is true, then you would be depriving it of its rights if it was aborted. This establishes that the unborn child has a right to its mother’s body if the pregnancy was the result of a voluntary act, and not from rape. But even then there are still problems with the argument, â€Å"for there are cases and cases, and the details make a difference. † Thomson gives the following example to support this claim. If you open a window at night because it is hot inside your home and one of the three possibilities occur, are you at fault for opening your window? The three possibilities are as follows: one, a burglar climbs in the window; two, the burglar broke in despite bars you installed on your windows; three, people-seeds drift in despite the expensive mesh screens you have installed to prevent their entry. Instead of coming to one solid conclusion to the argument, Thomson simply states that it’s best to set it aside because clearly every case is different. This, in part, proves the basic argument wrong yet again. The fact that the baby has a right to life isn’t necessarily true in every case. At the beginning of the paper, I stated what Thomson’s goal was for this article. She wishes to sway the ideas of those who are against abortion by challenging the arguments they give for thinking so. She is challenging the common argument those who are against abortion use by presenting situations similar yet different. She states â€Å"what I have been asking is whether or not the argument we began with, which proceeds only from the fetus’s being a person, really does establish its conclusion, I have argued that is does not. † In conclusion, I feel she brings appropriate points on the table to defend her argument. It is true that the basic argument is not an accurate argument or one that can be used for every case. She isn’t claiming that abortions are always permissible or that it is permissible to secure the death of an unborn child. I do not believe in abortion for reasons I will not address at this time and therefore am not claiming to feel the same Thomson does about all of her arguments, but I do agree that the â€Å"right to life† argument is not a solid one. With the analogies Thomson set out, it is clear that cases must be looked at individually because the details make all the difference. I feel she succeeds in her goal. She challenges the way I feel about abortion and requires that I justify my reasons for or against it for more than just the fetus’s â€Å"right to life. REFERENCES * Thomson, Judith Jarvis. 1971. â€Å"A Defense of Abortion. † Philosophy Public Affairs Vol. 1, no. 1. * Gracyk, Theodore. Minnesota State University, Judith Jarvis Thomson. Last modified July 26, 2006. Accessed September 22, 2011. http://www. mnstate. edu/gracyk/courses/phil%20115/thomson_on_abortion_outline. htm. * Kerstein, Samual. University of Maryland, Judith Jarvis Thompson: A Defense of Abortio n. Accessed September 22, 2011. http://www. philosophy. umd. edu/Faculty/SKerstein/140s09/thomson. html.

Why the US Is Said to Have a Mixed Economy

Why the US Is Said to Have a Mixed Economy The United States is said to have a mixed  economy because privately owned businesses and government both play important roles. Indeed, some of the most enduring debates of American economic history focus on the relative roles of the public and private sectors. Private vs. Public Ownership The American free enterprise system emphasizes private ownership. Private businesses produce most goods and services, and almost two-thirds of the nations total economic output goes to individuals for personal use (the remaining one-third is bought by government and business). The consumer role is so great, in fact, that the nation is sometimes characterized as having a consumer economy. This emphasis on private ownership arises, in part, from American beliefs about personal freedom. From the time the nation was created, Americans have feared excessive government power, and they have sought to limit governments authority over individuals including its role in the economic realm. In addition, Americans generally believe that an economy characterized by private ownership is likely to operate more efficiently than one with substantial government ownership. Why? When economic forces are unfettered, Americans believe, supply and demand determine the prices of goods and services. Prices, in turn, tell businesses what to produce; if people want more of a particular good than the economy is producing, the price of the good rises. That catches the attention of new or other companies that, sensing an opportunity to earn profits, start producing more of that good. On the other hand, if people want less of the good, prices fall and less competitive producers either go out of business or start producing different goods. Such a system is called a market economy. A socialist economy, in contrast, is characterized by more government ownership and central planning. Most Americans are convinced that socialist economies are inherently less efficient because the government, which relies on tax revenues, is far less likely than private businesses to heed price signals or to feel the discipline imposed by market forces. The Limits to Free Enterprise With a Mixed Economy There are limits to free enterprise, however. Americans have always believed that some services are better performed by public rather than private enterprise. For instance, in the United States, the government is primarily responsible for the administration of justice, education (although there are many private schools and training centers), the road system, social statistical reporting, and national defense. In addition, the government often is asked to intervene in the economy to correct situations in which the price system does not work. It regulates natural monopolies, for example, and it uses antitrust laws to control or break up other business combinations that become so powerful that they can surmount market forces. The government also addresses issues beyond the reach of market forces. It provides welfare and unemployment benefits to people who cannot support themselves, either because they encounter problems in their personal lives or lose their jobs as a result of economic upheaval; it pays much of the cost of medical care for the aged and those who live in poverty; it regulates private industry to limit air and water pollution; it provides low-cost loans to people who suffer losses as a result of natural disasters; and it has played the leading role in the exploration of space, which is too expensive for any private enterprise to handle. In this mixed economy, individuals can help guide the economy not only through the choices they make as consumers but through the votes they cast for officials who shape economic policy. In recent years, consumers have voiced concerns about product safety, environmental threats posed by certain industrial practices, and potential health risks citizens may face; the government has responded by creating agencies to protect consumer interests and promote the general public welfare. The U.S. economy has changed in other ways as well. The population and the labor force have shifted dramatically away from farms to cities, from fields to factories, and, above all, to service industries. In todays economy, the providers of personal and public services far outnumber producers of agricultural and manufactured goods. As the economy has grown more complex, statistics also reveal over the last century a sharp long-term trend away from self-employment toward working for others. This article is adapted from the book Outline of the U.S. Economy by Conte and Carr and has been adapted with permission from the U.S. Department of State.

Reflective paper Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words - 7

Reflective paper - Essay Example I proceeded onto Payco America under external consulting roles for 12 years, training, customer service roles and receivable operations in healthcare, as the first female Vice President of ops. I then decided to go to Marquette’s Law School. In Aurora, I assumed a number of roles: receivables, billing, business office, compliance after MUL graduation, VP operations and worked finally as a chief of staff. My current role is working with PMs, tools and methodologies of PMs, as the Chief Integration officer for outsourcing and technology division, which supports the management cycle of revenue in the sector of the healthcare (Shapiro et al, 2006). My story is to share a process measurement strategy that Aurora used in activating its strategic plan, including the method of the effort, management of the spawned projects and outcome measurement. This will encompass the purpose and intent of the process, including the annual flow of the effort and actual work effort of a team. The process’ purpose was to create discipline around the execution and selection of the organization’s tactics that achieve target plans for patient satisfaction, employee satisfaction, quality, financial performance and growth (Shapiro et al, 2006). The process was disciplined, structured, replicable and facilitated. From the lessons we learnt, play books are completed by leader-led teams with program accountability. They take 75-90 days to be developed: including: planning, vetting/ approval, funding, and building individual actions, and culminates in a semi-annual event. This effort takes leaders, and if done well, it is part of an â€Å"e vent†, and commissions a commitment. Playbook creation involved: the overarching charter which described the team’s game plan, the timeline which demonstrated the launch and duration of each individual initiative, outcome

The Cash Flow of ABC Limited Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1000 words

The Cash Flow of ABC Limited - Essay Example The cash flow statement provides valuable information on the quality of income and sales, dividend and interest covers, the cash available per share and the cash returns generated by the assets. These are discussed in the following sections. In addition to the quick ratio or current ratio (Monetary Assets / Current Liabilities) and the liquidity ratio (Current Assets / Current Liabilities), another very useful ratio to analyses a company’s performance is the quality of income (Net Cash Inflow from Operations/ Net Profit before Interest and Tax). The quality of income ratio helps understand the company’s income a little better. The net cash inflow for ABC Limited is  £155 and the Profits before interest and tax totals to  £67, thus making its Quality of Income Ratio as 2.313. This ratio helps analyze the amount of free cash that has been utilized to increase the capital expenditure. It computed as Retained Cash Flow (After Div. Paid) / Cash Paid for Acquisition. For the case of ABC Limited, the amount of money that has been invested to capital expenditures is  £ 115 and the total amount of free cash is  £134 (i.e. Net cash from Operating Activities less the tax paid less the dividends paid = 155 - 15 – 6). Thus the capital expenditure ratio totals to 1.165%. It is clear that ABC limited has invested a high amount in capital expenditures and still there is a net increase in cash, indicating that the company has performed very well in terms of collecting the cash from the customers. The cash owing cover signifies the total amount of free cash (i.e. Net Cash income from operations less the tax, less interest and fewer dividends) that is used to settle the total owing of the company. Calculation of the cash owing cover can be done by dividing the total owing by the retained cash from operations (after dividend). ABC Limited has a total owing of  £72 m and the net free cash after dividends totals to  £134 m (155 – 15 – 6 ) thus making the cash owing cover to total to 0.537. Therefore the number of years to pay off debt is 0.5years or 6 months. This indicates that ABC limited can pay off the debts in a very short period.

The Road Taken Essay Example for Free

The Road Taken Essay Literature is the expression of thoughts, ideas, or feelings someone may have and can either be written or spoken. Often times we become part of the literature in a way to try to understand what the message is that the author is trying to provide to us. The literary work that I have chosen was a poem written by Robert Frost in 1916 titled, The Road Not Taken. There were a few reasons why this piece of literary work captured by interest and the first was that in High School we spent a week provided our analysis on this piece. It caught my interest based on the genre. Poetry is a type of literature that is open to interpretation and there is truly no right and wrong answer so it gives me the opportunity to analyze it without there truly being a right or wrong answer, I would have to back up my opinion with facts. What also caught my attention was the use of tone, symbolism, and imagination. My feelings on the tone over time have changed and I feel that the tone is more depressive. I can apply what I feel the meaning of the poem which to me means the journey we take in life and the choices we make and how we look back at them. Secondly the use of symbolism can be seen throughout the entire poem and can be applied to everyones life. Imagination can be tied with the symbolism, Robert Frost use of imagination gives the poem meaning and allows us to engage in identify with his meaning is and is trying to portray to us. One of the analytical approaches in Journey into Literature written by Clungston (2010), is a reader-response approach. It is a way to find a personal link with the poem but there is more to this approach, there are a few questions that we need to ask in order to develop a critical analysis of the work. What captured your imagination? Was it a feeling, an emotion, a  curiosity, or an aspiration? Did it involve a desire to escape a past or present association? What motivation or change did my connection with this piece of literature create in my thinking? In my relationships? What connections can I make between this piece of literature and others that I’ve read? Did my â€Å"connection† reinforce things I knew or add new insights? These are the questions that need to be answered prior to proceeding with a critical analysis essay of a particular piece of literature. The poem The Road Not Taken, written by Robert Frost is a poem which consist of four stanzas that each contain fives lines. What first drew me in was the symbolism and imagination which caused me to develop a personal and emotional connection to the poem. I developed a personal connection with the poem from the first stanza. Two roads diverged in a yellow wood, And sorry I could not travel both And be one traveler (Frost, 1916). His use of symbolism can be seen in this verse meaning the decisions people make in life or the unique path we all travel in life. He then proceeds to tell us how he is thinking about his decisions prior to making it and trying to weigh the options and try to determine the outcomes. long I stood And looked down one as far as I could To where it bent in the undergrowth (Frost, 1916). In the poem Frost describes how he looks down both paths and how one looked better than the other but both are about the same. What I believe Frost is saying that both choices look good and that one may be better than the other but both have been followed. I shall be telling this with a sigh Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in a wood, and I— I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference (Frost, 1916). In this his last stanza he tells us that in the future he knows that we would look back and with a sigh that he took the road less traveled meaning that he made a choice that many do not make but this made all the difference. Now when I read the line I took the one less traveled by, (Frost, 1916) and I look at the title I begin to wonder why the title is not The Road Less Traveled. The poem does leave a lingering sense of melancholy mystery in my mind and I think both the sigh and title express this. I believe that Frost regrets the decision he has made this is why he would refer back to the road he did take. Also with the title The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost se ems fixated on what is down that path that he did not  take. Robert Frost has left this poem open to many different interpretations. I believe that everyone can find their own meaning to this poem based on their life experiences. Based on his use of metaphors, symbols, and imagination, he leaves the meaning open to the reader. References Clugston, R. W. (2010). Journey into literature. San Diego, California: Bridgepoint Education, Inc. Frost, R. (1993). The road not taken, and other poems. New York: Dover Publications.

Aeneas Fights With Turnus Essays -- Aeneid Virgil Essays

Aeneas Fights With Turnus In the Aeneid, Virgil describes many human qualities, problems and characteristics. Some examples which I wish to illustrate can be found in the end of epic, in the scene of the final duel between Aeneas and Turnus. Virgil also introduces a novel idea in his work. Both sides, the Trojans and the Latins, are portrayed as noble people. Even though Aeneas is fated to win, and he is the hero of the work, the opposing force, Turnus, is not portrayed as evil, but rather like a noble person in a very hard situation. Virgil deals as much with physical and psychological problems Turnus faces, being an honest and noble man, as he does with Aeneas’s problems. By the time the battle begins, Turnus knows that he will lose. His sister, who was given some divine powers by Jupiter earlier, helped him during the battle before the final duel, but then she is called off by Jupiter. Turnus knew even before the battle started that he will lose, because it was fated for Aeneas to receive the land and marry Lavinia. He was urged by King Latinus and Lavinia herself not to fight but as the poet says, â€Å"Words cannot check the violence of Turnus† (Book XII, 62). Who was Turnus’s â€Å"violence†, or anger against? I do not think that it was Aeneas. Turnus was angry at the fate that forced him to give up the woman he loved to some newcomer. He could not accept that. Virgil is showing that anger can drive a person to the most irrational decisions. Turnus went, knowingly, to die because he was angry at fate, which cannot be changed. Aeneas faces a similar problem when he has to leave Dido -- fate is against his desires, but Aeneas, chooses fate’s way, while Turnus chooses his desires. This quality is not only portrayed in the ... ...ght of Pallas’s belt upon his murderer. He decides to avenge him, and punish Turnus for his crimes. Here, justice prevails over mercy, and repentance does not achieve any results. It is difficult to see how in later times Virgil might have been referred to as a Christian before Christ. He clearly here states that Aeneas, who was a very humane hero, kills Turnus to avenge his friend despite the fact that Turnus repented his sins. At the end, justice triumphs over feelings like mercy. Both men, Aeneas and Turnus are shown to be bound by justice. Turnus cannot accept Aeneas’s usurping of his wedding rites, and is prepared to fight and die for it. Aeneas cannot accept the slaughter of his friend, and must avenge him. And even though only one of them is the hero of the epic, both follow a similar path through the work, and both get what they were assigned to by fate.

Death, Dying, and Bereavement Essay

In our busy lives, filled with work and family, we learn to take many things for granted. One of these is that nothing will change, not our friends, families and jobs. However, every now and then, something happens to shake us out of our denial and into stark awareness that things can happen very suddenly. Then, we are reminded of how fragile life is and how nothing stays the same. Death is an inseparable part of life. If we are to live life honestly and without fear, we have to also accept that death is ultimately inevitable. Death should not cause us to live in fear, but rather to live our lives in the very best way that we can. It is important to not â€Å"bury our head in the sand† and instead, to make responsible preparations including financial and legal arrangements, as well as talking about our wishes with our family and friends. By understanding the rites and rituals that accompany a death in our culture, religion or spiritual group, we can better prepare for the dying and grieving process. Witnessing the death of my mother five years ago was a devastating blow but in retrospect it taught me to appreciate the small things in life, to value my relationships, and to trust in God. Finding Closure The death of a parent can be a very shocking and life-changing experience. Suddenly the person that you turned to for their wisdom and their advice is no longer available. The loss of a loved one will leave you feeling empty inside, as if the world will never be the same again and nothing will ever be able to heal your pain. The truth is that time heals all wounds and the world keeps on going as if nothing happened.