PHIL 347 Exam 2 Complete Questions With 100% Verified
Answers Graded A+
The Naive View
Having a mental disorder itself implies something about one's freedom and moral
responsibility
The Nuanced View
There is no general relationship between moral responsibility and psychopathology
Moral Responsibility
The philosophical term of art used to describe when it is appropriate to hold someone
accountable for something morally significant that they've done
Usually, this is tied to blaming someone when they do something wrong or
bad and praising someone when they do something right or good
Typically, we must assume that a person is morally responsible if punishing them is to
be justified
M'Naughten Rule (1843)
A person should be considered "insane" in the legal context if it can be clearly proved
that, at the time of committing the act, the person's mental disorder caused them to not
know what they were doing or, if they did know what they were doing, to not know that
what they were doing was wrong.
Why hold the naive view? (reason 1)
Mental disorders are pathological, so actions influenced by them are also pathological
and disordered. We shouldn't be held responsible for such actions.
May's response: not all actions resulting from pathological conditions are completely
beyond a person's control
Why hold the naive view? (reason 2)
We cannot be responsible for actions resulting from psychiatric disorders because we
are not ultimately responsible for acquiring the disorder in the first place.
May's response: this view overgeneralizes to ordinary actions that have nothing to do
with mental disorder -- it would result in no one being responsible for anything
Why hold the naive view? (reason 3)
Mental disorders involve irresistible impulses, delusions, etc., that prevent proper
control over one's conduct
May's response: this is the strongest reason to favor the naive view. Whether it
succeeds hinges on whether all mental disorders genuinely impair a person's agency
Implication of the nuanced view
We ought to evaluate responsibility on a case-by-case basis, not based on categories of
mental disorders
Why favor the nuanced view? (reason 1)
Symptoms associated with mental disorders can actually increase a persons agency or
responsibility
Why favor the nuanced view? (reason 2)
Although symptoms of mental disorders can diminish agency, they only do in some
contexts and do so in varying degrees
Numerical Identity
, What properties make a person continue to exist over time
One view: psychological continuity
Another view: same biological organism
Practical Identity
Practical identity, also referred to as moral or social identity, relates to the roles,
responsibilities, and values that individuals adopt in various social contexts.
Narrative Identity
How we define ourselves through self-narratives
Human Enhancement
It refers to the use of biotechnology (e.g., drugs, implants, genetic manipulation) to
improve human performance
Therapy vs Enhancement
Therapy tends to correct biological deficiencies or restore functionality that was lost
Human enhancement seeks to boost human performance beyond our normal capacities
Moral Terms
Impermissible: wrong and should not be done
Permissible: morally okay but not morally required
Obligatory: Morally required and should be done
supererogatory: morally good to do but not required and implies you go beyond what is
just morally permissible
Consequentialism in Supporting Human Enhancement
Consequentialist arguments are the main support for human enhancement.
Increased welfare: people will be better off if they have higher subjective well-being, are
smarter, are physically stronger, etc.
Increased autonomy: Enhancement will give people a wider range of things that they
can do
Julian Savulescu's Argument
He thinks parents are obligated to enhance their children if doing so would improve their
quality of life. Multiple authors have argued that moral enhancement would be obligatory
if it were safe and effective
Opposing Human Enhancement
-Widespread use of enhancement could increase inequality
-May lead to overmedicalization of certain conditions or have other undesirable social or
political effects
-The use of human enhancement in competitive contexts could undermine the spirit of
these competitive enterprises
-Widespread use of genetic enhancement could generate the same ethical concerns
associated with the state-led eugenics programs from the early half of the 20th century
Objecting Human Enhancement Entirely
Pursuing human enhancement reflects a lack of humility and perhaps other undesirable
character traits
Human enhancement threatens the notion of human dignity
Answers Graded A+
The Naive View
Having a mental disorder itself implies something about one's freedom and moral
responsibility
The Nuanced View
There is no general relationship between moral responsibility and psychopathology
Moral Responsibility
The philosophical term of art used to describe when it is appropriate to hold someone
accountable for something morally significant that they've done
Usually, this is tied to blaming someone when they do something wrong or
bad and praising someone when they do something right or good
Typically, we must assume that a person is morally responsible if punishing them is to
be justified
M'Naughten Rule (1843)
A person should be considered "insane" in the legal context if it can be clearly proved
that, at the time of committing the act, the person's mental disorder caused them to not
know what they were doing or, if they did know what they were doing, to not know that
what they were doing was wrong.
Why hold the naive view? (reason 1)
Mental disorders are pathological, so actions influenced by them are also pathological
and disordered. We shouldn't be held responsible for such actions.
May's response: not all actions resulting from pathological conditions are completely
beyond a person's control
Why hold the naive view? (reason 2)
We cannot be responsible for actions resulting from psychiatric disorders because we
are not ultimately responsible for acquiring the disorder in the first place.
May's response: this view overgeneralizes to ordinary actions that have nothing to do
with mental disorder -- it would result in no one being responsible for anything
Why hold the naive view? (reason 3)
Mental disorders involve irresistible impulses, delusions, etc., that prevent proper
control over one's conduct
May's response: this is the strongest reason to favor the naive view. Whether it
succeeds hinges on whether all mental disorders genuinely impair a person's agency
Implication of the nuanced view
We ought to evaluate responsibility on a case-by-case basis, not based on categories of
mental disorders
Why favor the nuanced view? (reason 1)
Symptoms associated with mental disorders can actually increase a persons agency or
responsibility
Why favor the nuanced view? (reason 2)
Although symptoms of mental disorders can diminish agency, they only do in some
contexts and do so in varying degrees
Numerical Identity
, What properties make a person continue to exist over time
One view: psychological continuity
Another view: same biological organism
Practical Identity
Practical identity, also referred to as moral or social identity, relates to the roles,
responsibilities, and values that individuals adopt in various social contexts.
Narrative Identity
How we define ourselves through self-narratives
Human Enhancement
It refers to the use of biotechnology (e.g., drugs, implants, genetic manipulation) to
improve human performance
Therapy vs Enhancement
Therapy tends to correct biological deficiencies or restore functionality that was lost
Human enhancement seeks to boost human performance beyond our normal capacities
Moral Terms
Impermissible: wrong and should not be done
Permissible: morally okay but not morally required
Obligatory: Morally required and should be done
supererogatory: morally good to do but not required and implies you go beyond what is
just morally permissible
Consequentialism in Supporting Human Enhancement
Consequentialist arguments are the main support for human enhancement.
Increased welfare: people will be better off if they have higher subjective well-being, are
smarter, are physically stronger, etc.
Increased autonomy: Enhancement will give people a wider range of things that they
can do
Julian Savulescu's Argument
He thinks parents are obligated to enhance their children if doing so would improve their
quality of life. Multiple authors have argued that moral enhancement would be obligatory
if it were safe and effective
Opposing Human Enhancement
-Widespread use of enhancement could increase inequality
-May lead to overmedicalization of certain conditions or have other undesirable social or
political effects
-The use of human enhancement in competitive contexts could undermine the spirit of
these competitive enterprises
-Widespread use of genetic enhancement could generate the same ethical concerns
associated with the state-led eugenics programs from the early half of the 20th century
Objecting Human Enhancement Entirely
Pursuing human enhancement reflects a lack of humility and perhaps other undesirable
character traits
Human enhancement threatens the notion of human dignity
