MIT OpenCourseWare http ocw mit edu 24 06J STS 006J Bioethics Spring 2009 For information about citing these materials or our Terms of Use visit http ocw mit edu terms 24 06 RESPONSIBILITY HANDOUT Suppose that you have a medical condition and you engaged in behavior that significantly increased the risk of your getting it Is it your fault Levels of Risk Diving A bent cave diver and a bent snorkeler both need access to a hyperbaric chamber Should we give the snorkeler priority because it is the diver s fault he got this way Walking A hill walker and a couch potato both get struck by lightning Should we give the couch potato priority Fault for Behavior Alcoholism Two people need livers one is alcoholic Otherwise their prognosis is the same Should we think it is the alcoholic s fault she got this way Obesity Should health insurance companies be allowed to charge the obese higher premiums on the grounds that it is their fault they got that way Here s an unpromising argument for thinking that it is not the alcoholic s fault P1 Genetic Determinism There is some gene complex G such that given certain background environmental conditions anybody who has it will become an alcoholic P2 Fault For any event E and set of conditions C you are not at fault for E if C is causally sufficient for E and you have no control over C P3 Alcoholics do not have control over their genes or their background environmental conditions C Alcoholics are not responsible for their alcoholism A more promising argument P1 Fault 2 You are at fault for E only if you know or should know that E is a likely consequence of your free actions where your actions are free when they are sensitive to your second order desires P2 Typically an alcoholic s liver failure is not a consequence of his or her free actions C Typically an alcoholic is not at fault for his or her liver failure
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