Moral Status Obligations to Persons and Other Living Things

by Warren, Mary Anne

• ISBN13: 9780198236689
• ISBN10: 0198236689
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1998-01-15
• Publisher: Oxford University Press

Summary

Mary Anne Warren investigates a theoretical question that is at the center of practical and professional ethics: what are the criteria for having moral status? That is, what does it take to be an entity towards which people have moral considerations? Warren argues that no single property will do as a sole criterion, and puts forward seven basic principles as criteria. She then applies these principles to three controversial moral issues: voluntary euthanasia, abortion, and the moral status of animals.

Table of Contents

Part I: An Account of Moral Status	1	(178)
1. The Concept of Moral Status	3	(21)
2. Reverence for Life	24	(26)
3. Sentience and the Utilitarian Calculus	50	(40)
4. Personhood and Moral Rights	90	(32)
5. The Relevance of Relationships	122	(26)
6. A Multi-Criterial Analysis of Moral Status	148	(31)
Part II: Selected Applications	179	(64)
7. Applying the Principles	181	(4)
8. Euthanasia and the Moral Status of Human Beings	185	(16)
9. Abortion and Human Rights	201	(23)
10. Animal Rights and Human Limitations	224	(17)
11. Conclusion	241	(2)
Bibliography	243	(12)
Index	255