PHI 2630 EXAM 2 STUDY GUIDE 04 04 2015 Section A You will be asked to explain five different concepts ideas out of the list below You will need to explain these clearly and coherently and use examples to support your explanations Not all of the concepts from the list will appear on the test but you will have some choice with regards to what concepts you will explain Each of these five answers will be weighted at 10 of your total grade 1 Inherently Dangerous From LaFollette in relation to guns o Inherently Dangerous LaFollette asks the question Are guns inherently dangerous objects whose nature or design is sufficient to justify our prediction that they will cause harm independent of any empirical evidence Ex we do not need double blind empirical studies to o How are guns inherently dangerous know that nuclear weapons are inherently dangerous they were designed to cause harm and their nature is such that we can confidently predict they will cause harm This differs from some dangerous objects that are not inherently so such as alcohol automobiles and cigarettes they were not designed to cause harm but all are causally implicated in many people s deaths They were invented for the military so they were designed to cause and threaten harm Gun are improved by making them more efficient at causing harm contrast with automobiles which are improved by making them less dangerous Literature of gun advocates also supports the claim that guns are inherently dangerous They advocate the private ownership of guns to prevent crimes Guns can serve these purposes only because they are an effective means of inflicting and threatening harm Even guns not normally used to harm humans are still used for some form of harm ex shotguns are used to kill animals All of this evidence supports the common view that guns are inherently dangerous which is why we have special reasons to regulate them In simple terms Guns are designed to harm They are improved by making them better at harming They are used to harm o This goes hand in hand with the fact that guns also increase the risk of harm The more serious the harm that general gun ownership causes then the more reason there is to restrict it o Armchair argument that guns harm Guns are easy to use to kill and harm People act differently when angry and are more likely to use guns inappropriately on those occasions When people are depressed and have access to a gun they are more likely to kill themselves Handling guns increases the probability of accidental death injury 2 Fundamental Moral Right From LaFollette Gun Control Is gun ownership a fundamental moral right o Fundamental Right right protecting a fundamental interest a fundamental right is a non derivative Fundamental rights standardly have conditions boundaries or restrictions upon them like the right to vote being conditional upon reaching a specific age But we cannot restrict or put conditions on fundamental rights except for compelling reasons and individuals cannot forfeit their fundamental rights if they can forfeit them at all except for overwhelming reasons Fundamental rights freedom of speech freedom of association etc benefit society as well as individuals We minimally assume fundamental rights right types do not harm society o The constitution guarantees a legal right to bear arms but not a moral right o How does this apply to guns Advocates for guns claim that gun ownership is an essential element for the flourishing of a proper citizen A proper citizen according to this view is one capable of providing for and defending his family this vision of the citizen is very controversial because it assumes each of us has far more control over our lives than we arguably do have Even if this conception were defensible it would not establish a fundamental right to bear arms since guns are mere means to independent citizenship they are not constitutive of that citizenship Hence it is doubtful that the purported right to bear arms satisfies the first requirement of a fundamental right Second there is evidence that granting this right does harm society which shows that this purported right would not satisfy the second requirement of a fundamental right Fundamental rights do not harm society Allowing gun ownership harms society Thus gun ownership is not a fundamental right o In Simple Terms 3 Fundamental Interest From LaFollette Gun Control Is gun ownership a Fundamental Right based off the idea of Fundamental Interest o Fundamental Interest person s chance of living a good life whatever her particular interests desires and beliefs happen to be They are integrally related to a Ex a society that protects speech creates an environment within which each of us can pursue our particular interests goals needs and development whatever our interests happen to be o How does this apply to guns No compelling reasons to think that owning a gun is a fundamental interest guns are not necessary to one s flourishing no matter what her particular desires interests and beliefs Also the interests protected by paradigmatic fundamental are not merely means to flourishing they are elements of constituting it having a fun might be a means to achieve an ends but they are not constitutive elements of a person s flourishing hence owning a gun is not a fundamental right Fundamental rights protect fundamental interests Fundamental interests are common to everyone and concern our living good lives Owning a gun is not a fundamental interest It is not a constitutive element of our flourishing Thus owning a gun is not a fundamental right o In Simple Terms 4 Derivative Moral Right From LaFollette Gun Control Is owning a gun a Derivative Moral Right o Derivative Rights rights They also cannot be restricted without good evidence Rights that derive from fundamental Ex We have a fundamental right to non interference I am free to do what I want as long as I do not pose a harm to others My drinking alcohol does not pose harm to others Therefore I have a Derivative right to drink alcohol such a right to drink is restricted by age laws and drunk driving laws o LaFollette s First Conclusion Given that i people have a prima facie derivative right to own guns and ii many people deem it important to do so and iii there are costs to enforcing laws to control guns we should not restrict gun ownership without good reasons If we criminalize every action type whose tokens occasionally lead to some harm then we would criminalize most behavior As a result
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