James Rachels s What Is Morality - 1904 Words

In chapter one of James Rachels’s What is Morality, he argues that at the very minimum, morality is using reason to guide one s decisions, while keeping in mind the interests of those who will be affected by one’s choice, without giving more weight to one individual over another. He supports this thesis by describing a couple of morally ambiguous situations regarding humanity and life. Rachels’ first example is Baby Theresa, who was born an anencephalic. Her parents wanted to donate her organs, as she was likely going to die within days anyway. However, Florida Law prevented the taking of organs from anyone â€Å"alive†, and by the time Baby Theresa died, her organs were no longer useable. Rachels goes through the arguments of both the pro†¦show more content†¦However, he mentions that separating the two is not what would kill Mary- she would die because she is unable to sustain herself. Therefore, it is not really â€Å"violating† the sanctity of human life. He realizes that this argument is a bit out there, and amends the argument to conclude that it is not always wrong to kill innocent humans, and this just happens to be one of the odd cases. He concludes that some people will never fully agree with this idea, but that on the whole, the argument for separating Jodie and Mary seems more persuasive than keeping them together. His last example is that of Tracy Latimer, a 12 year old with cerebral palsy who had the brain capacity of a three month old. Tracy Latimer was killed by her father, who was tried for murder and found guilty of only second degree murder. The judge wanted to give him only an one year sentence, but the Canadian Supreme Court insisted he be given the minimum 25 years. Those who supported the Supreme Court’s decision included the handicapped themselves, who used the argument that it is wrong to discriminate against the disabled to oppose the lenient sentence first given. Mr. Laimer argued that this was not a case of discrimination against the handicapped. He killed his daughter because keeping her alive was torture. She had undergone major surgery and neededShow MoreRelatedCriticism Of Cultural Relativism1216 Words   |  5 PagesCultural relativism is the theory where there is no objective truth in morality, and moral truths are determined by different cultures. The primary argu ment used to justify cultural relativism is the cultural differences argument, which claims different cultures have different moral practices and beliefs, therefore, there is no objective truth in morality (Newton). 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