ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on a simpler reconstruction, which enables one to address the variety of ethical thought experiments and to distinguish two common uses of the term "thought experiment": A scenario and a question are introduced. The experimenter goes through the scenario and arrives at some result. A conclusion is drawn with respect to some target. Scientific thought experiments typically target empirical claims; in metaphysics, epistemology and philosophy of language, the target is typically a proposal for a conceptual analysis or, more generally, a characterization of a concept. In ethics, the target is usually a claim about a normative concept or some normative principle or theory. The goal of epistemic is thought experiments to provide a reason which speaks in favour of or against a claim with respect to the target. The chapter draws a basic distinction between constructive and destructive epistemic functions.
