In the human journey, called life, few things are certain among these certainties is death. Every human that lives will someday die. Death comes in different forms and the living response to them in different ways. Perhaps it depends on ones moral perspective of the death. For example, child killed by a drunken, the child is innocent and the driver ethically inexcusable. In a case of the soldier who sacrifice his life in a final heroic act, gives his life to save the lives of others. Certain groups would hold him in high esteem at the very least ethically forgivable. Another example of death is by one’s own hand better known as suicide. An ethical verdict unknown still has no final conclusion. The ethical dilemma sparks disagreement across nations as well as across time. For some, suicide is an unforgivable act that is never excusable, for other suicide is a saving grace or a redeeming action to restore honor. While this dilemma has taken many shapes over time, it has never been settled, perhaps with a fuller understanding of its history we may come closer to a conclusion.
Firstly, suicide nearly goes as far back in human history as death does. There is an Egyptian tale of a man committing suicide as a way to escape the darkness of his soul by fleeing to the afterlife. Early Greek philosophers, such as Pythagoras of Samos, spoke against suicide while most of Greek culture at the time was indifferent about it. In 452, Suicide was condemned as a sinful and the work of the devil by Christian church.(History of Suicide) The Japanese samurai, ritual suicide act of Seppuku also known as Harakiri, meaning “cutting the belly” was 1st record in the 11th century.(Fuse) The church was reaffirmed by the philosopher and theologian, Thomas...
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...Theologica. Allen: Christian Classics, 1981. Print
Hume, David, edited Richard H. Popkin. "Of Suicide / Of Immortality of the Soul." Dialogues concerning Natural Religion ; and the Posthumous Essays, Of the Immortality of the Soul, and Of Suicide. Second ed. Indianapolis: Hackett, 1980. 91-107. Print.
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Barrington, Mary Rose. "The Right to Suicide." Problems of Death. Ed. Bender, David L. Anoka: Greenhaven, 1974. 114-119.
The word Euthanasia comes from the Greek and means “good death” (http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp) and in the range of this paper, it will be called physician assisted suicide or “active” euthanasia. The definition of “active” euthanasia is ending one’s life yourself or with aid of a doctor. It can be done in various different ways; however, the most common form is with a combination of drugs, usually given by a physician. ( http://www.medicinenet.com/script/main/hp.asp) The reason Physician Assisted Suicide (or PAS) is an important issue in this country and around the world is that there are many people out there suffering from debilitating, incurable and intensely painful diseases that would like to end their lives with dignity and without suffering. (Leo & Lein, 2010, The Value of a Planned Death)
Dworkin, Gerald. " The Nature of Medicine." Euthanasia and Physician Assisted Suicide: For and Against. 1st ed. Cambridge: Cambridge UP, 1998.
Can suicide be justified as morally correct? This is one of the many questions Immanuel Kant answers in, “The Groundwork of the Metaphysic of Morals”. Kant discusses many questions with arguable answers, which explains why he is one of the most controversial philosophers still today. Throughout Kant’s work, multiple ideas are considered, but the Categorical Imperative is one of the most prevalent. Though this concept is extremely dense, the Categorical Imperative is the law of freedom that grounds pure ethics of the metaphysics of ethics. Categorical imperatives are the basis of morality because they provoke pure reasons for every human beings actions. By the end of his work, one will understand Kant’s beliefs on morality, but to explain this, he goes into depth on the difference between hypothetical imperatives and Categorical Imperative, two different formulations of the Categorical Imperative, and a few examples.
The Code of Ethics for Nurses was created to be a guide for nurses to perform their duties in a way that is abiding with the ethical responsibilities of the nursing profession and quality in nursing care. The Code of Ethics has excellent guidelines for how nurses should behave, however; these parameters are not specific. They do not identify what is right and wrong, leaving nurses having to ultimately make that decision. Ethics in nursing involves individual interpretation based on personal morals and values. Nursing professionals have the ethical accountability to be altruistic, meaning a nurse who cares for patients without self-interest. This results in a nurse functioning as a patient advocate, making decisions that are in the best interest of the patient and practicing sound nursing ethics.
Keown, John. "The Value of Human Life." Euthanasia, Ethics, and Public Policy: An Argument against Legalisation. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge UP, 2002. 39. Print.
If the idea of the self is somehow able to exists in a potentially altered version of Hume’s epistemology that accounts for what is known, now, about the subconscious synthetization of ideas, It could function in the deflection of such claims as the soul and god but could hold an idea of identity that could not be conflated with the two because it still must rely on experience. If Hume’s epistemology included the subconscious and it and be argued that from the subconscious ideas can form behaviorally from our impressions, our illusion of self could stand as an idea within Hume’s vision of the mind. This would circumvent many problems that are created when there is no justification for the self. Ideas such as guilt, punishment, and whether or not your life can have meaning are not necessarily uprooted by Hume’s analysis of how the mind
As patients come closer to the end of their lives, certain organs stop performing as well as they use to. People are unable to do simple tasks like putting on clothes, going to the restroom without assistance, eat on our own, and sometimes even breathe without the help of a machine. Needing to depend on someone for everything suddenly brings feelings of helplessness much like an infant feels. It is easy to see why some patients with terminal illnesses would seek any type of relief from this hardship, even if that relief is suicide. Euthanasia or assisted suicide is where a physician would give a patient an aid in dying. “Assisted suicide is a controversial medical and ethical issue based on the question of whether, in certain situations, Medical practioners should be allowed to help patients actively determine the time and circumstances of their death” (Lee). “Arguments for and against assisted suicide (sometimes called the “right to die” debate) are complicated by the fact that they come from very many different points of view: medical issues, ethical issues, legal issues, religious issues, and social issues all play a part in shaping people’s opinions on the subject” (Lee). Euthanasia should not be legalized because it is considered murder, it goes against physicians’ Hippocratic Oath, violates the Controlled
7). Mr. Bell describes deism in his introduction as a view that approximately consisted of the view that what is necessary to hold a religious belief is what can be substantiated about God and his nature, as well as religious duty, by reasoning (pg. 6). He goes on to explain that some deists desired to show that Christianity is a reasonable and analytical religion, others believed that religion was a natural and obvious reaction to attestation of God’s providence. (pg. 7) However, Hume believed deism was an entirely incorrect belief (pg. 7 & 8). He believed that religious beliefs began with emotional needs, such as vulnerability and insecurities, reactions to the hostilities of the world surrounding us, and that religious beliefs are a means of bringing comfort to the suffering (pg. 8). This is a conclusion Hume brings about in Part XII of the Dialogues Concerning Natural Religion. Philo states that the horrors of religion frequently dominate more than its solace, and that men tend to find comfort in religion when they are anguished by depression and ill health (pg. 136). Yet when men are not afflicted by these deplorable states and in a joyful state, that man is suited for the tasks at hand, be they toil, friendship, or recreation, and that he pays no attention to religion (pg. 136-137). Therefore, Philo contends, this is proof enough that religion is allied with sadness more than joyfulness (pg. 136). Throughout the conversation, Philo is referred to as a skeptic, for he questions and argues what the others take for granted as fact, and yet this is also his quality, as he takes nothing for granted as being true unless he has experienced it to be the case. It is no surprise then, Philo’s ultimate admonition: that it is of utmost importance for men of thought, men who love wisdom, to be skeptical. (pg.
Focus on the Family Issue Analysts. “Euthanasia and Physician-Assisted Suicide.” Focus on the Family. 2008. The 'Standard' of the 'Standard'.
... Association. 1998. “Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide.” Canadian Medical Association Board of Directors. Retrieved from http://www.cma.ca/index.php/ci_id/3214/la_id/1.htm on October 16th, 2010.
The. Print. The. O’Neill, Onora. “Kantian Ethics.” A Companion to Ethics.
Dying with dignity, mercy death, right to die, and assisted suicide are just a few of the common terms, which describe a person’s death by euthanasia. Euthanasia has and always will be a very sensitive and controversial topic. There are two common questions surrounding this dilemma. The first is when is it considered mercy? Is it when a person is facing a terminal illness? The second is when is considered murder? Is it when a person looking for an easy way out of suffering and pain? This paper will examine the ethical dilemma of euthanasia according to the Christian worldview and compare it to other options of resolving the dilemma.
A person has the perpendicular to die, the right to choose when to die. Her conclusion should be well-conjecture out and the perform should be well consummate. Those who believe that vigor is a gift that only God can take away have the upright to amble and wait. Suicide should be contract carefully and thoughtfully (after all, a lucky attempt is irreversible), but within these parameters, it should be revolve virtuously acceptable.
Hume, David. An Enquiry concerning Human Understanding: A Letter from a Gentleman to His Friend in Edinburgh: Hume's Abstract of A Treatise of Human Nature. Indianapolis: Hackett Pub., 1993. Print.