One of the most famous arguments against the pro-life position is Judith Thomson's "Violinist Analogy," in which you, the reader are attached, against your will, to a famous unconscious violinist in order to prevent his dying from a kidney ailment. 2. He builds up a chain of counter-analogies (i.e. As the title . He has been found to have a fatal kidney ailment . It is based on granting that the unborn is a human person, but argues that it is still permissible to kill the unborn because it may be justified as "non-intentional killing." The argument originated with Judith Jarvis Thomson, to the best of my knowledge. Wouldn't be as much forcing a procedure into someone, is more like prohibiting some drugs or unsafe procedures . The pro-choice response would be to state that conjoined twins have equal claims to their shared organs, since they were conceived at . A Critique of Judith Jarvis Thomson's A Defense of Abortion, Part I. analogies in which the opposite principle applies) and argues that they are sufficient to cast doubt on the conclusion . The woman doesn't ask to be raped, and therefore doesn't ask for the child. You have the ability to unplug the person at any time, but if you do it will end the life of that person because they are unable to live unplugged. Critics of her view have formulated many . -if mother and child have an equal right to . The violinist In "A Defense of Abortion", . Third, the violinist illustration is not parallel to pregnancy because it equates a stranger/stranger relationship with a mother/child relationship. Every person has a right to decide what happens in or to . Thomson's Main Goal. The Thomson argument, the "Good Samaritan argument," is an argument by analogy that goes like this: you have been kidnapped and hooked up to a famous violinist who suffers from a kidney disease which would be fatal unless The fetus' right to life outweighs the mother's right to decide what happens in her body. As part of her argument she gives a well-recognized analogy known as the "unplugging the violinist" analogy. What should Thomson's thought experiment show concerning the violinist? This book gives a fascinating survey of the available information on abortion. Refuting the "Violinist Argument" for Abortion Children have a right to live in the wombs of their mothers, which are naturally designed to accommodate them . "You wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with an unconscious violinist. She first states that you are allowed to unplug yourself in the violinist scenario, second abortion after rape is analogous to the violinist scenario, therefore, you should be allowed to unplug yourself and be allowed to abort after rape (Chwang, Abortion slide 12). Abortions are permissible if the ; Question: In A Defense of Abortion . After reading "A defense of Abortion" by Judith Jarvis Thomson and what he had to say with his violinist analogy involving the kidney replacement. A famous unconscious violinist. She uses this analogy throughout her article to make case. You are asked to imagine that you have been kidnapped and rendered unconscious by a vigilante gang of classical music aficionados who have . Terms in this set (15) Thomson's Moderate View . Test. Ronald Munson (Belmont; Wadsworth 1996). There have been many articles written about the Violinist Analogy. That being said, Judith Jarvis Thomson has written an essay in defense of abortion, and she defends it by way of an analogy. Therefore, if Thomson's account of the original violinist analogy is right, taking even a small risk of becoming pregnant could commit us to carrying a pregnancy (should it occur) to term. He is pro-choice also. a. Gravity. A Defense of Abortion Most opposition to abortion relies on the premise that the fetus is a human being, a person, from the moment of conception. On Two Objections to Thomson's "Defense of Abortion" The central argument of Judith Jarvis Thomson's famous 1971 article, "A Defense of Abortion,"1 turns crucially on an analogy between a woman's being pregnant and your being plugged into a famous violinist who needs the use of your kidneys for nine months in order to survive. Yes, no analogy is perfect (cuz if . Her analogue of pregnancy is a universe in which a famous violinist is tethered for 9 months to a woman so that his life can be saved by . But then the conclusion to Thomson's variation on Noonan's argument is false . Or that, at any rate, is the argument. The analogy is supposed to show that there is something wrong with the following important anti-abortion argument: 1. He dies as a direct result . With respect to her famous violinist analogy where a dying violinist is attached to her body without consent, she admits that at best this only permits abortion in the event of rape, but then says that the right to life "shouldn't turn on the question of whether or not you are the product of rape" (49). Gravity. Suppose that there is a world-famous, world-class violinist under some medical condition which only you can help. She presents nuanced yet controversial conclusions on abortion from creative thought experiments, most notably the violinist scenario. Educated pro-choicers who claim that the question of fetal personhood is irrelevant because the mother's right to an abortion would trump the fetus' right to life even if he is a person may bring up Judith Jarvis Thompson's famous "Violinist Analogy" or some variation of it. Judith Jarvis Thompson in her article, A Defense of Abortion, makes her case as for why she believes abortion is permissible, at least for some reasons. To show that anti-abortion arguments fail b/c there can't be a consistent way of upholding the view. Download Share. The violinist is a person, has the right to life, depends on you for survival, would be killed if aborted, and is there against your will. 12 (June 17, 1971), pp. . 2. Thomson's defenders also point to her 'people-seeds' argument as a strong analogy to typical cases of abortion. pp 69-80.). Published in 1971, Judith Jarvis Thomson's A Defense of Abortion is now a classic in contemporary philosophy. We are asked to notice that the development of a human being from conception through birth into childhood . While most arguments for and against abortion focus on the moral status (personhood) of the unborn, Judith Jarvis Thompson argued that abortion may be morally permissible, even if the unborn are persons with a right to life. Her argument was well thought out and explained very well. You were an unwilling participant. The fetus is a person, has a right to life, depends on you for survival, would be killed if aborted, and is there against your will. As Thomson explains, the step of verifying that abortion is ethically incorrect, offered the unborn child is a person, remains in . The author describes the scenario as a violinist being plugged to someone to help save the violinist by extracting kidney blood to fight off the poison in the violinist . Her argument was well thought out and explained very well. Trent Horn • 9/2/2020. The overall thesis that Thomson presents in "A Defence of Abortion", is that abortion is permissible no . In her 1971 essay, "A Defense of Abortion" Thomson makes several other . Once I present this anti-abortion argument, I will put forth Thomson's thought experiment as a counter . Answer (1 of 4): Is abortion morally permissible? You're still resorting to scare tactics. Take, for example, the most . (So, the foetus has a right to life.) The violinist. A famous unconscious violinist. If (1), then any act of abortion is morally wrong. In her often-reprinted article "A Defense of Abortion," Judith Jarvis Thomson uses a series of analogies to defend her conclusion, the most famous of which is the familiar violinist analogy. In A Defense of Abortion, Thomson draws an analogy between a pregnant woman maintaining the life of her foetus and a person who has had their kidneys, without consent connected to the renal system of a famous violinist to save the violinist from dying of kidney failure. if music lovers hooked a violinist up to your body and he needed to be . the conjoined twins objection: the relationship between conjoined twins represents a more complete analogy to pregnancy than the relationship between the violinist and the kidney donor. Judith Jarvis Thompson in her article, A Defense of Abortion, makes her case as for why she believes abortion is permissible, at least for some reasons. Even if you are pro-choice, you should make sure you are pro-choice for logical reasons. number of scenarios can be imagined to invoke emotive responses in hopes of overcoming logic. Judith Jarvis Thompson's case of the violinist is one of the important ethical argument for abortion that do not depend on the moral status of the fetus. Thomson's article, by positing a moral justification for abortion even if one grants a fetal right to life, opened up a new avenue in the philosophical debate about the ethics of abortion. Judith Jarvis Thomson, "A Defense of Abortion" STUDY. The premise is argued for, but, as I think, not well. Judith Jarvis Thomson: A Defense of Abortion - CRITICAL EXPOSITION The goal of Judith Jarvis Thomson in her defense of abortion is to sway the ideas of those who are against abortion by challenging the arguments they give for thinking so. Fischer's Criticism of the Violinist Thought Experiment In his article, 'Abortion and Ownership', Fischer challenges Thomson's intuitive reaction to The Violinist.His argumentative strategy is subtle and interesting. 1, no. The violinist scenario is an example of abortion but from a different angle. 1 Reflection upon this analogy is meant to show us that abortion is generally not immoral even if the prenatal have the same basic moral status as the postnatal. I would like to start off with the central argument against abortion that virtually all opponents of abortion make against this practice. The Violinist Analogy: Imagine that someone was plugged into unwillingly to use your kidneys or whatever in order to survive. the . 1. As part of her argument she gives a well-recognized analogy known as the "unplugging the violinist" analogy. In Defense of Abortion Thomson agrees that "drawing a line" between when a fetus is not a person and when it becomes a person is difficult and unclear. The premise is argued for, but, as I think, not well. The "violinist analogy" is an argument for the permissiveness of abortion. In "A Defense of Abortion", . Take, for example, the most common argument. She uses this analogy throughout her article to make case. Flashcards. From Philosophy & Public Affairs, Vol. PLAY. In Life's Dominion, Dworkin argues that a fetus can derive a right to life based off of its sentience, the most . A booklet published as a "Pro-Life Student's Abortion Debate Guide" offers the following advice: "Don't get trapped into making it a religious issue - it is not - it is a human rights issue; a social justice issue" (Hochderffer 1994: 5-6).7 One of the most commonly cited figures in popular works opposed to abortion is Bernard N. Nathanson, a physician and opponent of abortion . Most opposition to abortion relies on the premise that the fetus is a human being, a person, from the moment of conception. Therefore, the baby's right to life isn't enough to obligate the mother to save it. Judith Jarvis Thompson in her article, A Defense of Abortion, makes her case as for why she believes abortion is permissible, at least for some reasons. instead of the comatose violinist, make the analogy stronger by using a newborn; make the situation more plausible. (Reprinted in "Intervention and Reflection: Basic Issues in Medical Ethics," 5 th ed., ed. While many have critiqued and defended Thomson's violinist, I want to examine her views on fetal . Learn. For those who have never heard of it before, the 'violinist' analogy is a thought experiment from a moral philosophy paper by Judith Jarvis Thomson titled 'A Defence of Abortion' in 1971. Because the fatal separation of conjoined twins is immoral, so is abortion. There are surely many similarities between the case of the violinist and the case of . There is no consent involved whatsoever. mkgreene@udel.edu The Famous, Famous Violinist Argument •Famous fiddler •You •Society of Music Lovers •Kidnap •Unhooking •Rapist •Fetus •Mother •Abortion •Rape 4 5 6 A famous unconscious violinist. Without you, he or she will die, but with your help, he or she will live. For those who have never heard of it before, the 'violinist' analogy is a thought experiment from a moral philosophy paper by Judith Jarvis Thomson titled 'A Defence of Abortion' in 1971. 2. She uses this analogy throughout her article to make case. It would appear that there is a conflict of intuitions here. She put the analogy like so: 1. Judith Jarvis Thomson, "A Defense of Abortion," STUDY. In her 1971 essay, "A Defense of Abortion" Thomson makes several other . The Famous Violinist is a "thought experiment." It is not just an analogy to, say, pregnancy as a . What is JJ Thomson's thesis in a Defence of abortion? 2. The following just needs to reply to 1. 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