Euthanasia

Question 1

Voluntary euthanasia

Answer 1

this applies when a life is ended painlessly by a third party at their own request

Question 2

Non-voluntary

Answer 2

this applies when a person is unable to express their wish to die but there are reasonable grounds for ending their life painlessly

Question 3

Daniel James

Answer 3

Became paralysed from the neck down, lawyer describes as being “in fear and loathing of his daily life”.
was voluntarily euthanized in Switzerland.

Question 4

Francis Ingels

Answer 4

Mother who killed her braindead son Thomas Ingels as she thought it would be what he wanted.

Question 5

Sancity of life

Answer 5

the idea that life is intrinsically sacred or has such worth that it is not considered within the power of a human being

Question 6

Quality of life

Answer 6

weighs the extrinsic experience of life, that affects or justifies whether or not it is worth continuing.

Question 7

Personhood

Answer 7

the quality of a human being

Question 8

Arguments for no death

Answer 8

Aquinas: “suicide is an unnatural act and a rejection of God’s gift of an immortal soul” God kills and makes alive
Kant: have a duty to not commit suicide, furthers us from summon bonum
Daniel Burden: “life does not end when you’re paralysed”

Question 9

Arguments for human reason being unreliable

Answer 9

Hays: “reason itself is always culturally influenced
Hooker: diagnosis could be incorrect
Barth: “human reason is corrupt and cannot be trusted”

Question 10

Arguments for autonomy

Answer 10

Hans Kung: “an all merciful God would give dying humans the responsibility of making a conscious decision about the time and manner of their death”
Kevorkian: “what counts is what the patient wants”

Question 11

Marry Anne Warren

Answer 11

must have consciousness, reasoning, the capacity to communicate, self motivated activity, presence of self concepts and self awareness in order to have a good enough quality of life.

Question 12

Arguments for minimizing pain

Answer 12

More: cannot live in misery should die if in pain with no hope
Popper: Negative utilitarianism

Question 13

Fletcher

Answer 13

-40 IQ probs not a person
-20 IQ definitely not a person
most loving thing would be to euthanize

Question 14

C.S Lewis

Answer 14

“agape is the real and adorable image of the divine”

Question 15

Pence

Answer 15

killing people who want to die is not wrong as they are actually dying

Question 16

2 Examples 14 scholars

Answer 16

James Daniels
Francis Ingels

Aquinas
Kant
Daniel Burden
Karl Barth
Hooker
Hays
Kevorkian
Hans Kung
Marry Anne Warren
More 
Popper
C.S Lewis
Fletcher
Pence

Question 17

Henry Sidgwick

Answer 17

only conscience beings can appreicate values and meanings so they see life as significant

Question 18

4 presuppositions

Answer 18

pragmatism- must be practical and work towards the end that is love

relativism-there are no moral absolutes

positivism-decisions must begin with love

personalism-human beings come first and not treated as means

Question 19

6 propositions

Answer 19

• agape replaces the law
• end justifies the means
• love has no favourites
• the only that is good in itself is love
• the most loving thing is situational
• love and justice are inseparable