Related Experiment Video
Updated: Feb 14, 2026
03:56
A View of Their Own: Capturing the Egocentric View of Infants and Toddlers with Head-Mounted Cameras
Published on: October 5, 2018
8.0K
Beyond Infanticide: How Psychological Accounts of Persons Can Justify Harming Infants
Daniel Rodger1, Bruce P Blackshaw2, Calum Miller3
1a School of Health and Social Care , London South Bank University , London , UK.
Summary
Psychological capacity accounts for the right to life may justify abortion and infanticide. However, these views also permit morally abhorrent acts like organ harvesting, challenging their ethical foundation.
Area of Science:
- Bioethics
- Moral Philosophy
- Philosophy of Mind
Background:
- The right to life is often linked to psychological capacities.
- This reasoning is used to justify abortion and, increasingly, infanticide.
- Some ethical theories accept these consequences.
Purpose of the Study:
- To challenge psychological capacity accounts of the right to life.
- To demonstrate the broader, unpalatable implications of these theories.
- To re-establish a robust argument against such ethical frameworks.
Main Methods:
- Logical argumentation and reductio ad absurdum.
- Analysis of ethical theories grounding rights in psychological capacities.
- Comparison of intuitions regarding abortion, infanticide, and 'pre-personal acts'.
Main Results:
- Psychological capacity accounts not only permit infanticide but also more extreme acts.
- These acts include organ harvesting, live experimentation, sexual interference, and discriminatory killing.
- Strong moral objections to these 'pre-personal acts' exist.
Conclusions:
- The permissibility of 'pre-personal acts' reveals fatal flaws in psychological capacity-based theories of personhood.
- These theories fail to provide a consistent and ethically defensible grounding for the right to life.
- A more comprehensive ethical framework is needed to protect vulnerable individuals.
Related Concept Videos
01:29Introduction to Personality Psychology
20.0K
Personality encompasses a set of enduring traits and behavioral patterns that define how individuals think, feel, and interact, ultimately shaping their unique identities. The concept of personality has deep historical roots, deriving from the Latin term "persona," which means "mask." This term initially referred to the roles played by actors in ancient theater, signifying the different facets individuals display in various contexts.
Early Theories of Personality
The study of...
Early Theories of Personality
The study of...
20.0K
01:24Defining Psychology
8.0K
Psychology is the scientific discipline dedicated to understanding both observable behavior and the internal mental processes underlying such behavior. It aims to comprehend human nature and apply this understanding to solve practical problems, enhance well-being, and improve societal outcomes. An example of psychology's application is the study of prosocial behavior, such as why and under what conditions individuals might help strangers in need. This process involves describing observed...
8.0K
01:13Psychology as a Science
4.0K
Psychology, as a scientific discipline, aims to understand the mind and behavior through rigorous and systematic methods. The foundation of psychological research is evidence-based, relying heavily on the scientific method to derive and validate knowledge. This structured approach ensures that findings are reliable, valid, and applicable to broader contexts.
The scientific method in psychology involves six critical steps: making observations, formulating hypotheses, conducting tests, analyzing...
The scientific method in psychology involves six critical steps: making observations, formulating hypotheses, conducting tests, analyzing...
4.0K
01:26Freudian Psychology
2.6K
Sigmund Freud, an Austrian neurologist born in 1856, significantly influenced psychology through his exploration of the unconscious mind. His interest in patients suffering from hysteria and neurosis — conditions without apparent physical causes — led him to theorize the existence of an unconscious mind, a repository for feelings and urges beyond our awareness. Freud's innovative approach included techniques such as dream analysis, free association, and attention to slips of the...
2.6K
01:14Gestalt Psychology
1.9K
Gestalt psychology, founded by Max Wertheimer, Kurt Koffka, and Wolfgang Kohler, emphasizes the importance of understanding perception as an organized whole. Developed as a counter to Wilhelm Wundt's structuralism, this approach posits that our perceptions are more than just the sum of sensory parts; they are comprehensive wholes where the relationships between parts define the perception. The principle "The whole is greater than the sum of its parts" encapsulates this view,...
1.9K
01:24Humanistic Psychology
2.9K
Humanistic psychology emerged in the mid-20th century as a response to the deterministic and pessimistic nature of behaviorism and psychoanalysis. While behaviorism focused on observable behaviors influenced by the environment and psychoanalysis delved into unconscious motivations, both theories suggested that human actions lacked free will. In contrast, humanistic psychology offers a perspective that emphasizes the innate potential for goodness and growth within every individual.
This approach...
This approach...
2.9K