Judith Jarvis Thomson
Encyclopedia
Judith Jarvis Thomson is an American
moral
philosopher
and metaphysician
, best known for her use of thought experiments to make philosophical points.
in New York
and taught at M.I.T. for the majority of her career, remaining there as professor emeritus. She is well known for thought experiment
s. Her husband, James Thomson
, was also a professor of philosophy at M.I.T. for many years.
:
The scenario is meant to push back against the concept that human beings possess an unalienable right to not be killed.
In this paper, Thomson argues on the basis of the violinist thought experiment that "the right to life consists not in the right not to be killed, but rather in the right not to be killed unjustly". Therefore, to show that abortion is morally impermissible, "it is by no means enough to show that the fetus
is a person and to remind us that all persons have a right to life
—we need to be shown also that killing the fetus violates its right to life, i.e., that abortion is unjust killing. And is it?" Thomson's article defends abortion rights and functions primarily as an argument by analogy in regards to the idea of mother
/fetus consanguinity
.
The paper meets reactions and criticisms from many different philosophers and bioethic
ists. Philippa Foot
, a prominent Aristotelian
ethicist argued that negative non-provision of service, as in the case of the violinist, is different from active killing, or interference, as in abortion (see Foot's book Moral Dilemmas, 86-87). Thompson's thought experiment has also been rebuked by Oxford philosopher John Finnis in "The Rights and Wrongs of Abortion: a reply to Judith Thompson"
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
moral
Ethics
Ethics, also known as moral philosophy, is a branch of philosophy that addresses questions about morality—that is, concepts such as good and evil, right and wrong, virtue and vice, justice and crime, etc.Major branches of ethics include:...
philosopher
Philosophy
Philosophy is the study of general and fundamental problems, such as those connected with existence, knowledge, values, reason, mind, and language. Philosophy is distinguished from other ways of addressing such problems by its critical, generally systematic approach and its reliance on rational...
and metaphysician
Metaphysics
Metaphysics is a branch of philosophy concerned with explaining the fundamental nature of being and the world, although the term is not easily defined. Traditionally, metaphysics attempts to answer two basic questions in the broadest possible terms:...
, best known for her use of thought experiments to make philosophical points.
Career
She attended Hunter College High SchoolHunter College High School
Hunter College High School is a New York City secondary school for intellectually gifted students located on Manhattan's Upper East Side. It is administered by Hunter College, a senior college of the City University of New York. Although it is not operated by the New York City Department of...
in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and taught at M.I.T. for the majority of her career, remaining there as professor emeritus. She is well known for thought experiment
Thought experiment
A thought experiment or Gedankenexperiment considers some hypothesis, theory, or principle for the purpose of thinking through its consequences...
s. Her husband, James Thomson
Thomson's lamp
Thomson's lamp is a puzzle that is a variation on Zeno's paradoxes. It was devised by philosopher James F. Thomson, who also coined the term supertask....
, was also a professor of philosophy at M.I.T. for many years.
A Defense of Abortion
One thought experiment for which Thomson is especially well-known occurs in her paper A Defense of AbortionA Defense of Abortion
A Defense of Abortion is a moral philosophy paper by Judith Jarvis Thomson first published in 1971. Granting for the sake of argument that the fetus has a right to life, Thomson uses thought experiments to argue for the moral permissibility of induced abortion. Her argument has many critics on both...
:
- You wake up in the morning and find yourself back to back in bed with an unconscious violinist. A famous unconscious violinist. He has been found to have a fatal kidney ailment, and the Society of Music Lovers has canvassed all the available medical records and found that you alone have the right blood type to help. They have therefore kidnapped you, and last night the violinist's circulatory system was plugged into yours, so that your kidneys can be used to extract poisons from his blood as well as your own. ... To unplug you would be to kill him. But never mind, it's only for nine months. By then he will have recovered from his ailment, and can safely be unplugged from you.
The scenario is meant to push back against the concept that human beings possess an unalienable right to not be killed.
In this paper, Thomson argues on the basis of the violinist thought experiment that "the right to life consists not in the right not to be killed, but rather in the right not to be killed unjustly". Therefore, to show that abortion is morally impermissible, "it is by no means enough to show that the fetus
Fetus
A fetus is a developing mammal or other viviparous vertebrate after the embryonic stage and before birth.In humans, the fetal stage of prenatal development starts at the beginning of the 11th week in gestational age, which is the 9th week after fertilization.-Etymology and spelling variations:The...
is a person and to remind us that all persons have a right to life
Right to life
Right to life is a phrase that describes the belief that a human being has an essential right to live, particularly that a human being has the right not to be killed by another human being...
—we need to be shown also that killing the fetus violates its right to life, i.e., that abortion is unjust killing. And is it?" Thomson's article defends abortion rights and functions primarily as an argument by analogy in regards to the idea of mother
Mother
A mother, mum, mom, momma, or mama is a woman who has raised a child, given birth to a child, and/or supplied the ovum that grew into a child. Because of the complexity and differences of a mother's social, cultural, and religious definitions and roles, it is challenging to specify a universally...
/fetus consanguinity
Consanguinity
Consanguinity refers to the property of being from the same kinship as another person. In that respect, consanguinity is the quality of being descended from the same ancestor as another person...
.
The paper meets reactions and criticisms from many different philosophers and bioethic
Bioethics
Bioethics is the study of controversial ethics brought about by advances in biology and medicine. Bioethicists are concerned with the ethical questions that arise in the relationships among life sciences, biotechnology, medicine, politics, law, and philosophy....
ists. Philippa Foot
Philippa Foot
Philippa Ruth Foot was a British philosopher, most notable for her works in ethics. She was one of the founders of contemporary virtue ethics...
, a prominent Aristotelian
Aristotelianism
Aristotelianism is a tradition of philosophy that takes its defining inspiration from the work of Aristotle. The works of Aristotle were initially defended by the members of the Peripatetic school, and, later on, by the Neoplatonists, who produced many commentaries on Aristotle's writings...
ethicist argued that negative non-provision of service, as in the case of the violinist, is different from active killing, or interference, as in abortion (see Foot's book Moral Dilemmas, 86-87). Thompson's thought experiment has also been rebuked by Oxford philosopher John Finnis in "The Rights and Wrongs of Abortion: a reply to Judith Thompson"
Writings
- Normativity (2008)
- Goodness and Advice (2003)
- Moral Relativism and Moral Objectivity (1996)
- The Realm of Rights (1990)
- Rights, Restitution, and Risk (1986)
- Acts and Other Events (1977)
- Killing, Letting Die and the Trolley Problem (1976)
- The Right to Privacy (1975)
- Preferential Hiring (1973)
See also
- American philosophyAmerican philosophyAmerican philosophy is the philosophical activity or output of Americans, both within the United States and abroad. The Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy notes that while American philosophy lacks a "core of defining features, American Philosophy can nevertheless be seen as both reflecting and...
- The fat man version of the trolley problemTrolley problemThe trolley problem is a thought experiment in ethics, first introduced by Philippa Foot, but also extensively analysed by Judith Jarvis Thomson, Peter Unger, and Frances Kamm...
- Violinist (Thought Experiment)Violinist (Thought Experiment)The Violinist is a famous thought experiment first posed by Judith Jarvis Thomson in 1971.-The "famous violinist" thought experiment:The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy describes her thought experiment as follows:...
- List of American philosophers