Frances Kamm has disputed the assertion that this action is morally equivalent to another by defending a “Principle of Contextual Interaction,” according to which morally relevant properties behave differently across contexts. For 10 points each:
[10h] Name this action. A James Rachels paper uses the example of a drowning cousin in a bathtub to contrast this action which Jones does with a possibly more heinous one done by Smith.
ANSWER: letting die [accept logical equivalents like allowing someone to die, reject “killing” and synonyms]
[10m] The notion that killing is worse than letting die is challenged with the example of a violinist being surgically attached to another person in “A Defense of Abortion,” a paper written by this philosopher.
ANSWER: Judith Jarvis Thomson
[10e] Thomson frequently challenged Philippa Foot’s view that killing is worse than letting die. Foot explored that distinction in this thought experiment, which involves choosing whether to divert the path of a certain vehicle.
ANSWER: trolley problem
<Ell Shauf, Philosophy>