Is Judith Jarvis Thomson still alive?

Is Judith Jarvis Thomson still alive?

Deceased (1929–2020)
Judith Jarvis Thomson/Living or Deceased

What did Judith Jarvis Thomson believe in?

Philosophical views Thomson’s main areas of research were moral philosophy and metaphysics. In moral philosophy she has made significant contributions to meta-ethics, normative ethics, and applied ethics. “A Defense of Abortion” (1971) introduces one thought experiment for which Thomson is especially well known.

Is Judith Jarvis Thomson a consequentialist?

To achieve this goal, Thomson first turns her attention to Consequentialism, which she characterizes as the view that ”a person ought to do a thing if and only if the world will be better if he does it than if he does any of the other things it is open to him to do at the time” (p. 7).

What is Thomson’s solution to the trolley problem?

You have two options: (i) Do nothing, and the 5 will die. (ii) Pull the lever, diverting the trolley where it will hit the large man’s body and come to a halt. He will die, but his body prevents the trolley from looping back around and killing the 5—so they will be saved.

Is Judith Thomson a Deontologist?

Deontological ethics takes the theory of duty to be more basic. In recent work, Judith Jarvis Thomson has also been developing a moral theory that in some ways resembles or sounds like virtue ethics although it differs in significant ways from the standard version.

Does Thomson believe in abortion?

Thomson claims that all persons have a right to life. According to Thomson, abortion is always morally permissible. Thomson argues that no one is morally required to make large sacrifices to sustain the life of another who has no right to demand them.

What is JJ Thomson’s thesis in a Defence of abortion?

The overall thesis that Thomson presents in “A Defence of Abortion”, is that abortion is permissible no matter the personhood status of the fetus.

What is runaway trolley?

The “Trolley Dilemma’ is an ethical thought experiment where there is a runaway trolley moving down railway tracks. In its path, there are five people tied up and unable to move and the trolley is heading straight for them. People are told that they are standing some distance off in the train yard, next to a lever.

Why did Philippa Foot create the Trolley Problem?

Philippa Foot had said that we had the intuition to turn the trolley in the first trolley case because it was injury/injury, and therefore we should minimize the injury to as few people as possible. Judith Jarvis Thomson, in her paper “The Trolley Problem”, adds the example of the fat man (among many other variations).

What is consequentialist moral reasoning?

Consequentialism is an ethical theory that judges whether or not something is right by what its consequences are. For instance, most people would agree that lying is wrong. But if telling a lie would help save a person’s life, consequentialism says it’s the right thing to do.

How old was Judith Jarvis Thomson when she died?

Professor Emerita Judith Jarvis Thomson, a philosopher of morality and metaphysics, died on November 20 at her home in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She was 91. Thomson transformed the philosophical discussion of abortion with her 1971 article “A defense of abortion” and devised the standard form of the “trolley problem.”

What did Judith Jarvis Thomson contribute to science?

Judith Jarvis Thomson has made major contributions to moral theory and metaphysics. In addition to several books in these areas, she has written more than seventy articles on a range of topics, including action theory, philosophy of mind, and philosophy of science.

Who is Judith Thomson and what is she known for?

Judith Jarvis Thomson (born October 4, 1929) is an American moral philosopher.

What did Ben Burgis say about Judith Jarvis Thomson?

The paper asks the reader to imagine that her circulatory system has, without her consent, been connected to that of a famous violinist whose life she must sustain for nine months. Philosopher Ben Burgis argues that the paper redirects philosophical attention from the rights of the fetus to that of the pregnant woman.