Exam 12: Moral,legal,and Aesthetic Reasoning

In this pair of cases,the first may serve as precedent for the second.Decide whether the second case is so relevantly similar to the first that it should be decided identically.Explain your decision. First case:The Pregnancy Discrimination Act of 1978 extended federal antibias protections to pregnant workers. Second case:Johnson Controls,a manufacturer of automobile batteries that uses large quantities of lead in its manufacturing processes,excludes women capable of bearing children from any job where the work carries a high risk of damage to the nervous system of a fetus.Under this policy,eight employees of Johnson Controls were involuntarily transferred to safer but lower-paying work.They sued the company,charging discrimination under the Act.

For the following,try to come up with an additional premise that will turn the passage into a deductively valid or an inductively strong argument.Usually this requires adding a general moral principle and,sometimes,an extra nonmoral claim as well.The idea is to guarantee that the "ought" claim follows from the "is" claim. Karen and Gina were roommates for about five months,and,as far as Gina knew,they had planned to room together until the end of the school year.But when Gina returned from a weekend at her parents',Karen had moved out.Since she couldn't find a new roommate on such short notice,Gina asked Karen to pay half of the next month's rent,but Karen answered that she didn't owe the rent since she wasn't living there anymore.I think Karen should pay at least half of one month's rent,since Gina was led to believe Karen was going to be living there and paying half.

If you were a member of a state legislature,what kind of law might you write to prevent such situations as the preceding from arising? On what grounds would you justify it?

State whether the following item expresses moral value or nonmoral value;or no value at all. Pat won a free trip to Europe-she's the luckiest person I know.

Suppose that the following pair of statements appears in a review of the same work of art.Identify which of the aesthetic principles referred to in the text each statement in the pair appeals to.Then state whether the principles are compatible and thus form the basis for a consistent review,or whether they are incompatible and cannot both be used in a consistent review. a.Art that misleads us about reality is dangerous. b.The great virtue of F.Scott Fitzgerald's novels is that they evoke a desire for a way of life that is extinct-indeed,a kind of life that likely never was. (a)Principle 1; (b)Principle 5;incompatible.

State whether the following item expresses moral value or nonmoral value;or no value at all. It is wrong for the United States to intervene in local wars outside U.S.territory.

State whether the following item expresses moral value or nonmoral value;or no value at all. The carpenter did an excellent job of remodeling the kitchen.

For the following,try to come up with an additional premise that will turn the passage into a deductively valid or an inductively strong argument.Usually this requires adding a general moral principle and,sometimes,an extra nonmoral claim as well.The idea is to guarantee that the "ought" claim follows from the "is" claim. You have no right to complain about Stephenson's performance;after all,you voted for him.

State whether the following item expresses moral value or nonmoral value;or no value at all. Alicia has not been entirely honest with her husband;that much is clear.

Identify the moral perspective at work here: Taffy is a university lab chimpanzee;the university has lost its animal research grant and has to decide what to do with Taffy. It depends on Taffy's condition;if she is healthy and can expect a long life,she should be taken to a place where she can live a full life;if the experiments have impaired her health to the point where she is suffering and won't recover,she should be put to sleep.

Identify the moral perspective at work here: At the supermarket,Vickie just ran her cart into a display of jars with jams and preserves,and now the aisle is full of broken glass and jam.She feels like leaving the store as quickly as possible.Is that an acceptable course of action? Yes,it is;since Vickie's religion says that it's OK to act like this,she's justified.However,since our religion says we should clean up the mess,we wouldn't be justified.

Identify the moral perspective at work here: Taffy is a university lab chimpanzee;the university has lost its animal research grant and has to decide what to do with Taffy. Only human greed and insensitivity have put Taffy in her present situation.We can hope that by learning about Taffy,people will become more sensitive toward other creatures.

State whether the reason given here is relevant according to any one of the aesthetic principles;and if it is relevant,identify the principle that makes it so. Ruben's nudes are so sensuous that this exhibit of them will make Manhattan society reject the dangerous motto,"Never too rich or too thin."

For the following,try to come up with an additional premise that will turn the passage into a deductively valid or an inductively strong argument.Usually this requires adding a general moral principle and,sometimes,an extra nonmoral claim as well.The idea is to guarantee that the "ought" claim follows from the "is" claim. When Sarah bought the lawn mower from Jean,she promised to pay another fifty dollars on the first of the month.Since it's now the first,Sarah should pay Jean the money.

Given the following position on euthanasia (doctor-assisted suicide),identify which of the three major ethical theories discussed in the text-utilitarianism,duty theory,or virtue ethics-it follows.Note that each theory may encompass several possible viewpoints on an issue. Active euthanasia should not be allowed.One might opt for euthanasia because one believes it might be to one's advantage,but could one truly imagine this access being available to everyone,as a universal law? Besides,one would be using the poor doctor as merely a means to an end,without any regard for his or her professional integrity.

Legal reasoning and moral reasoning both lead to prescriptions about whether or not certain actions should be done.

Identify the moral perspective at work here: Taffy is a university lab chimpanzee;the university has lost its animal research grant and has to decide what to do with Taffy. Taffy is not a rational being,and the university has no duty to treat her as anything but a mere means to an end.They can sell her or put her to sleep.If anybody cares enough for her to take care of her,that will be that person's choice.

Stare decisis is the doctrine that even though a court has pronounced a principle of law applicable to a certain set of facts,other judges should follow common sense in determining whether to apply that principle to other cases in which the facts are substantially the same.

Suppose that the following pair of statements appears in a review of the same work of art.Identify which of the aesthetic principles referred to in the text each statement in the pair appeals to.Then state whether the principles are compatible and thus form the basis for a consistent review,or whether they are incompatible and cannot both be used in a consistent review. a.Bierstadt's monumental western landscapes are effective;we can be sure of this because they romanticized,and thus promoted,the American migration to the western areas of the country. b.The scenes he painted of the Rocky Mountains make us understand viscerally what it is like to experience the sublime.

State whether the following item expresses moral value or nonmoral value;or no value at all. I like Beethoven's Third Symphony better than his Ninth.