Exam 9: Analogy and Legal and Moral Reasoning

Connie discovers four biology majors who took professor Langley's course in Italian Renaissance history. All four wear Calvin Klein jeans, and so does Connie.

Analogy and Legal Reasoning Henry paid a dog breeder $500 for a pit bull. Prior to the purchase the breeder assured him that the dog would not bite anyone in the household unless it was provoked. Henry brought the dog home, and it gradually became a member of his rowdy family. However, after 10 months, without being provoked, the dog bit his wife, causing serious injury. Henry then filed a lawsuit against the breeder claiming damages for a defective product. After filing the suit Henry discovered that his dog's male parent was vicious. There are two controlling cases in this jurisdiction: Carter v. Ace Electric: Carter bought an electric hairdryer from manufacturer Ace Electric. The hairdryer had a defective ground connection, and Carter suffered injury as a result of this defect. The court ruled in favor of Carter, noting that Ace knew or should have known about this defect at the time the hairdryer was made. Baker v. Harlow Motors: Baker purchased a new car from Harlow Motors, and after 10 months the engine stopped running. During that interval Baker had made several modifications to the engine. The court ruled in favor of Harlow because Baker had modified the engine. Construct two arguments, one supporting Henry, the other supporting the breeder.

Judy always rinses her dishes in the sink before putting them in the dishwasher, but Jasper never rinses anything.

Analogy and Moral Reasoning Suppose that you, your spouse, and infant child live in a small house in Galveston, Texas, which is situated on the Gulf of Mexico. Suppose a ferocious hurricane strikes Galveston, knocking out all of the power lines and closing the main highway to Houston. Luckily your house is spared, and you have enough food in your refrigerator and freezer to last for a few days. But without electricity, the food will quickly rot, and your supply of infant formula will spoil. Desperately you race to the closest convenience store to buy a supply of ice, but you find that the store is charging $50 for a ten pound bag. It turns out that all the other stores are charging the same price, and there is no way you can pay this much, especially when you realize you will need several bags. So you race to the local Home Depot to buy a small generator to keep the refrigerator and freezer running. But you find that generators that were going for $200 yesterday are now selling for over $2000. The phenomenon that you have encountered is called price gouging. There is no federal law against price gouging, and while several states have laws outlawing price gouging during an emergency, Texas is not one of them. People who support the morality of price gouging argue that a seller should be able to charge whatever he can get for a product, while those who oppose it argue that it is simply wrong to take advantage of people during an emergency. Develop as many arguments from analogy you can think of either supporting or opposing the morality of price gouging.

Connie discovers four biology majors who took Professor Langley's course in Italian Renaissance history. All four got As.

Connie and Lydia both use Apple computers.

Connie took two other history courses with Lydia, and she got the same grade as Lydia in both courses.

Connie changes her conclusion: She'll get at least an A- in Professor Langley's course.

Judy buys the same model dishwasher as Jasper's.

Morgan discovers 6 acquaintances who bought Goodmonth XK-1 tires. All drive cars equipped with CD changers.

Morgan changes her conclusion to state that she will get at least 45,000 miles of use.

Analogy and Moral Reasoning Embryonic stem cell research typically involves the destruction of human embryos. Such research is often criticized because human embryos, it is claimed, are human beings, and the destruction of human beings for research purposes is wrong. Write a short essay either favoring or opposing embryonic stem cell research. Develop as many arguments from analogy as you can think of either supporting or opposing the claim that human embryos are human beings.

Morgan discovers 6 acquaintances who bought Goodmonth XK-1 tires. All drive conservatively.

Judy has five other friends who bought Kitchen Maid dishwashers. All these friends live in studio apartments.

Connie discovers four biology majors who took professor Langley's course in Italian Renaissance history. All four come from different backgrounds and have different interests.

Analogy and Moral Reasoning A sweatshop is a manufacturing facility where workers are paid pennies per hour to make articles that sell for thousands of times more than what the laborers are paid to produce them. Today, most sweatshops are found in Asian countries, particularly China, and the articles manufactured include every form of clothing, Nike shoes, Barbie dolls for Mattel, Apple iPods, clothing for Disney, and countless other items sold by Walmart and other retailers. Sweatshops hire adults and children as young as 5 years old, and they often house them in firetraps, expose them to dangerous chemicals, deny them bathroom breaks, demand sexual favors from women, and force them to work as long as 15 hours per day, 7 days per week. ​ People who defend sweatshops argue that the workers sign up of their own free will and consider working in a sweatshop to be a highly desirable form of employment. Those who oppose sweatshops scoff at the idea that the choice to work there is made freely because the workers live in desperate poverty and have no other alternative. ​ Sweatshops are legal in most of the countries in which they are found today. But are they moral? Develop as many arguments from analogy you can think of either supporting or opposing the morality of sweatshops.