Ethics and Values / Unit 1 Ethics 021 short lesson, about 20 seconds
Thought Experiments
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The idea
A thought experiment is an invented case built to test a moral principle by isolating the single factor in question.
In practice
To test whether a promise binds after the promisee dies, imagine breaking it with every consequence unchanged. Only the promise itself now varies.
Where people slip
Objecting "that would never happen" changes the subject; the invented case tests the principle, not the news.
Your place on the trail
Every lesson rests on earlier ones and opens later ones. Tap any to jump.
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