When values conflict, Weston suggests sticking to either/or thinking; no middle ground.

Opposing sides of an issue may share values.

An argument against assisted suicide is the patient’s autonomy.

Utilitarianism would argue in favor of assisted suicide on the basis of relief from pain and pointless suffering.

Kant would argue in favor of assisted suicide.

Legitimate values would include those of Nazis and slave owners.

Oregon’s assisted suicide policy is an example of making the most responsible overall choice between the various values at stake.

Physicians who perform assisted suicides for patients should be certified to do so and paid on a salary basis so they would not have financial motivation to do more than they have to.

A problem solver’s mindset means going with your “gut” in tough decisions and letting the chips fall where they may.

“Positions” are seemingly non-negotiable official simplified stances.

Interests” are the values which underlie positions and may not be incompatible

In 1996 both “pro-life side” and the “pro-choice” side came together to oppose welfare changes which would have eliminated help to children born to mothers under 18.

A moral vision pushes us forward by “nagging” us to do or not do something.

Martin Luther King’s “I Have a Dream” speech is an example of moral vision.

Constructive strategies for resolving ethical issues includes: asking what each side is right about and seeking the best balance between contending values.

Constructive strategies for resolving ethical issues: includes building on shared and convergent values, and developing an inclusive moral vision.

A logical fallacy contains a mistake in reasoning.

Personal attack, attacking the motive, straw man, and begging the question are fallacies of insufficient evidence.

Inappropriate appeal to authority, false alternatives, and loaded question, and hasty generalization are fallacies of relevance.

The argument for US involvement in the Vietnam conflict was referred to as the “domino effect,” i.e. first Vietnam will fall to communism, which will lead to Laos falling to communism, which will lead to Cambodia falling to communism, etc. The domino effect argument is an example of the slippery slope fallacy.