Overview Handout

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Making Moral Progress: An Ethical Arguments Workbook

This handout is overview of an introductory ethics textbook called Making Moral Progress: An Ethical Arguments Workbook. This open-access (i.e., freely available) book applies the basics of formal logic to evaluate arguments concerning a number of pressing contemporary moral issues, such as abortion, euthanasia, absolute poverty, the treatment of animals, female genital mutilation, sexual ethics (e.g., homosexuality), drug use and more.

·         Novel features: (1) begins with what ‘ordinary people’ say; (2) very logic-focused; (3) experimental, discussion-oriented, and skills-focused: more how to think than what.

·         Book parts: I. CONCEPTS & TOOLS, II. OBSTACLES & OBJECTIONS, III. PRACTICE & APPLICATIONS, IV. PROGRESS & CHANGE  

·         The process: (1) Identify conclusion(s); (2) identify premise(s); (3) make the argument logically valid; (4) evaluate for soundness (true or reasonable premises & logical validity).

·         Persistent questions: “What do you mean?” And “Why think that?”

“Doing this is wrong because…”	P1. Fetuses are human. P2. ______________________________________ C1. Abortion (killing fetuses) is prima facie wrong. P3. Fetuses are potential persons. P4. _____________________________________ P5. ______________________________________ C2. Abortion (killing fetuses) is prima facie wrong.	P6. Meat tastes good; it’s pleasurable to eat. P7. ________________________ C3. Therefore, eating meat (&killing animals) is morally permissible. P8. Animals aren’t rational. P9. ________________________ Therefore, eating animals is morally permissible. P10. Animal research is necessary. P11. ______________________ C4. Animal research is morally permissible.
P11. Homosexuals can’t reproduce. P12 __________________________________ C5. So, homosexuality is wrong. P13. Homosexuality is unnatural. P14. __________________________________ C6. So, homosexuality is wrong.	P15. (Illegal) drug use is dangerous and unhealthy. P16_____________________________________ C7. So, (illegal) drug use is wrong. P17. People have a moral right to their bodies. P18. ____________________________________ C8. Therefore, drug use is morally permissible.	P19. Female genital mutilation is a tradition. P20. ______________________ C9. Therefore, FGM is morally permissible. P21. FGM is chosen by (some) women and girls. P22. ______________________ C.10 So, it is morally permissible.