Philosophy 105
Fall 2005
Lecture Notes - Extended Examples

We’ll use section I of Ch. 12 as a first illustration of how to go about analyzing a collection of essays on a topic.

From reading the essays, you can get the impression that the heart of the debate is over whether fetuses are people. An initial statement of that argument is given on p. 381, and it is revised, fairly heavily, until we get the Right to Life Argument on p. 382. The ensuing debate is largely about premise (1) of that argument.

Stott’s key argument, drawn from his final paragraph, is Arg. 12.1, p. 383. His dismissal of various decisive moments is reflected in (2) of his argument.

Hartshorne’s argument, suggested by what he says in the 2^nd full paragraph on p. 379, is reflected in Arg. 12.2 on p. 384.

Notice the structure of this: The Right to Life Arg. is the organizing element. Stott defends its first premise, Hartshorne objects to it.

Go over objection to each argument, as stated in text.

A passable, but not very sophisticated, analysis of these essays stops here. But a good discussion goes deeper. After all, Hartshorne surely was aware of the objection raised against his argument. He must have had something more in mind.

Key Point: Be aware of the difference between a perfunctory analysis (such as one that stops at the point we’ve reached) and one that sheds more light on the dispute. Aim for the latter.

One way to do better is to try to imagine what defenders of the argument you’ve criticized might say in response. We’ll find clues in Hartshorne’s paper about what he might say. And maybe you can think of a way to help out Stott. (See Ex. 3, p. 390.) One thought: add to the principle a step saying that the property does not come on gradually. (It’s an “all or nothing” property.)

For Hartshorne: Consider first ex. 6. This suggests that he’s agreeing with Stott. But that’s about premise (2) of Stott’s argument. It’s (3) that’s disputed. A key to understanding H is that he thinks that there are two senses of the word “person”.

Hartshorne has a response to the revised argument suggested for Stott: “person” in the social sense is a property that comes on gradually.

Key Point: Notice that this discussion does not commit to any particular view about the larger issue.