Jeff Jordan
- Published in print:
- 2006
- Published Online:
- January 2007
- ISBN:
- 9780199291328
- eISBN:
- 9780191710698
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199291328.003.0005
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Philosophy of Religion
This chapter scrutinizes nine objections leveled against Pascal's Wager. Two of these objections are charges that Pascalian reasoning is immoral. Three might be called ‘methodological objections’, as ...
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This chapter scrutinizes nine objections leveled against Pascal's Wager. Two of these objections are charges that Pascalian reasoning is immoral. Three might be called ‘methodological objections’, as they purport to show that the Wager argument is unsound because of this or that logical flaw. Four of the objections flow out of theological considerations. None of the nine, however, survives close scrutiny. The Jamesian Wager, in particular, escapes the nine unscathed.Less
This chapter scrutinizes nine objections leveled against Pascal's Wager. Two of these objections are charges that Pascalian reasoning is immoral. Three might be called ‘methodological objections’, as they purport to show that the Wager argument is unsound because of this or that logical flaw. Four of the objections flow out of theological considerations. None of the nine, however, survives close scrutiny. The Jamesian Wager, in particular, escapes the nine unscathed.
Bradley Jay Strawser
- Published in print:
- 2013
- Published Online:
- September 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780199926121
- eISBN:
- 9780199345656
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780199926121.003.0001
- Subject:
- Philosophy, Moral Philosophy, General
The debate over the ethical permissibility of remotely controlled unmanned weapons has exploded over the past few years. This essay introduces the book by reviewing the major contours of this broad ...
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The debate over the ethical permissibility of remotely controlled unmanned weapons has exploded over the past few years. This essay introduces the book by reviewing the major contours of this broad debate. In so doing it reviews the kinds of moral objections most commonly raised against unmanned weapons, both in theory and in practice, as well as some of the ways scholars have responded to these objections. It also offers a few critical distinctions on various positions within the debate that will help guide the reader. Finally, it argues that unmanned weapons can, in certain contexts, be morally preferable and even morally obligatory, due to the moral demand to avoid unnecessary risk.Less
The debate over the ethical permissibility of remotely controlled unmanned weapons has exploded over the past few years. This essay introduces the book by reviewing the major contours of this broad debate. In so doing it reviews the kinds of moral objections most commonly raised against unmanned weapons, both in theory and in practice, as well as some of the ways scholars have responded to these objections. It also offers a few critical distinctions on various positions within the debate that will help guide the reader. Finally, it argues that unmanned weapons can, in certain contexts, be morally preferable and even morally obligatory, due to the moral demand to avoid unnecessary risk.
Holly Fernandez Lynch
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262123051
- eISBN:
- 9780262278720
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262123051.001.0001
- Subject:
- Biology, Bioethics
Physicians in the United States who refuse to perform a variety of legally permissible medical services because of their own moral objections are often protected by “conscience clauses.” These laws, ...
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Physicians in the United States who refuse to perform a variety of legally permissible medical services because of their own moral objections are often protected by “conscience clauses.” These laws, on the books in nearly every state since the legalization of abortion by Roe v. Wade, shield physicians and other health professionals from such potential consequences of refusal as liability and dismissal. While some praise conscience clauses as protecting important freedoms, opponents, concerned with patient access to care, argue that professional refusals should be tolerated only when they are based on valid medical grounds. This book finds a way around the polarizing rhetoric associated with this issue by proposing a compromise that protects both a patient’s access to care and a physician’s ability to refuse. This focus on compromise is crucial, as new uses of medical technology expand the controversy beyond abortion and contraception to reach an increasing number of doctors and patients. The author argues that doctor–patient matching on the basis of personal moral values would eliminate, or at least minimize, many conflicts of conscience, and suggests that state licensing boards facilitate this goal. Licensing boards would be responsible for balancing the interests of doctors and patients by ensuring a sufficient number of willing physicians such that no physician’s refusal left a patient entirely without access to desired medical services.Less
Physicians in the United States who refuse to perform a variety of legally permissible medical services because of their own moral objections are often protected by “conscience clauses.” These laws, on the books in nearly every state since the legalization of abortion by Roe v. Wade, shield physicians and other health professionals from such potential consequences of refusal as liability and dismissal. While some praise conscience clauses as protecting important freedoms, opponents, concerned with patient access to care, argue that professional refusals should be tolerated only when they are based on valid medical grounds. This book finds a way around the polarizing rhetoric associated with this issue by proposing a compromise that protects both a patient’s access to care and a physician’s ability to refuse. This focus on compromise is crucial, as new uses of medical technology expand the controversy beyond abortion and contraception to reach an increasing number of doctors and patients. The author argues that doctor–patient matching on the basis of personal moral values would eliminate, or at least minimize, many conflicts of conscience, and suggests that state licensing boards facilitate this goal. Licensing boards would be responsible for balancing the interests of doctors and patients by ensuring a sufficient number of willing physicians such that no physician’s refusal left a patient entirely without access to desired medical services.
Andrew Briggs, Hans Halvorson, and Andrew Steane
- Published in print:
- 2018
- Published Online:
- October 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780198808282
- eISBN:
- 9780191866944
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/oso/9780198808282.003.0017
- Subject:
- Physics, History of Physics
Further objections to miracles, such as moral and theological objections, are examined. These give valuable cautions. If miracles are possible, then their extreme rarity is troubling from the point ...
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Further objections to miracles, such as moral and theological objections, are examined. These give valuable cautions. If miracles are possible, then their extreme rarity is troubling from the point of view of justice; a complete impossibility might be easier to understand. Augustine was right to oppose the idea that miracles represent a breakdown of lawful order. Christian commitment involves a duty of honesty and straight-dealing in questions of healthcare. Jesus himself strongly opposed the mindset that asks for impressive marvels rather than help in living right. Notwithstanding all this, we affirm, in company with other Christians, that after Jesus of Nazareth was dead, he was given new life in an embodied, tangible, visible, audible, coherent, insightful, dynamic form. We affirm this out of a sense of duty and in response to evidence, but we acknowledge that the evidence does not on its own compel the response.Less
Further objections to miracles, such as moral and theological objections, are examined. These give valuable cautions. If miracles are possible, then their extreme rarity is troubling from the point of view of justice; a complete impossibility might be easier to understand. Augustine was right to oppose the idea that miracles represent a breakdown of lawful order. Christian commitment involves a duty of honesty and straight-dealing in questions of healthcare. Jesus himself strongly opposed the mindset that asks for impressive marvels rather than help in living right. Notwithstanding all this, we affirm, in company with other Christians, that after Jesus of Nazareth was dead, he was given new life in an embodied, tangible, visible, audible, coherent, insightful, dynamic form. We affirm this out of a sense of duty and in response to evidence, but we acknowledge that the evidence does not on its own compel the response.
