Introduction to Philosophy - Euthanasia€¦ · Introduction to Philosophy Euthanasia The Argument From Nature The Argument From Self Interest The Argument From Practical E ects References

Introductionto Philosophy

Euthanasia

The ArgumentFrom Nature

The ArgumentFrom SelfInterest

The ArgumentFrom PracticalEffects

References

Introduction to PhilosophyEuthanasia

Carnegie Mellon University

14th September 2015


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Practical Matters

If you’ve recently joined the class, please get in touch with meas soon as possible so I can help you get caught up on the workyou’ve missed

Just a reminder your third writing assignment is due onWednesday

The Gay-Williams and Rachels readings are available onBlackboard

Remember to check the syllabus to find out the courseschedule and where to find the readings!


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A reminder . . .

The topics that we’ll be tackling in the “ethical issues” portionof the course can be difficult and provoke strong emotionalreactions

Discussing a topic with someone who takes a different positionfrom us can be very valuable!

But when discussing these issues it is important to berespectful of each other

Remember that in philosophy we want to focus on thearguments or the reasons that can be given in favor of theposition


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Gay-Williams

Gay-Williams is a pseudonym

The author’s real name is Ronald Munson

Why the pseudonym?

He was editing a collection of articles and wanted to include anarticle against euthanasia

Apparently he didn’t think existing arguments againsteuthanasia were good and so tried to come up with better onesin his article, though he does not endorse them


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Kinds of Euthanasia

Passive euthanasia: Withdrawing treatment, allowing thepatient to die.

Active euthanasia: Taking an action, like administering alethal drug, to cause the person to die


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Kinds of Euthanasia

Voluntary euthanasia: The patient consents to euthanasia

Involuntary euthanasia: Euthanasia is carried out in violationof a patients’s consent—in other words, murder

Nonvoluntary euthanasia: Euthanasia is carried out on apatient who is unable to consent


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Gay-Williams’s Definition ofEuthanasia

How does Gay-Williams define euthanasia?

“...intentionally taking the life of a presumably hopeless person.Whether the life is one’s own or that of another, the taking ofit is still euthanasia” (Gay-Williams, 1989, 98)


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In other words, three conditions must be met for something tobe considered euthanasia according to GW:

1 A patient is killed

2 That patient cannot reasonably be expected to recoverfrom their illness or injury

3 The death of the patient is deliberate and intentional


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What does Gay-Williams think about passive euthanasia?

That it is not euthanasia at all

He says conditions (1) and (3) are not fulfilled


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Gay-Williams’s Arguments

Gay-Williams presents three arguments against euthanasia:

1 The Argument from Nature

2 The Argument from Self-Interest

3 The Argument from Practical Effects


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The Argument From Nature


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Take a minute to look again at Gay-Williams’s “argument fromnature” (pages 98–99 in the reading). Think about how youwould summarize it to a friend who is not taking this course.


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Here’s one way of simplifying and summarizing Gay-Williams’sargument:

1 Euthanasia is an act which does violence to a natural goal

2 All acts which do violence to a natural goal undermine ourdignity

3 All acts which undermine our dignity are morally wrong

4 Euthanasia is morally wrong


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With your neighbor, briefly discuss the following question: isthe “argument from nature” a “good” argument, i.e. are thepremises true and do they support the conclusion?






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As presented, the above argument is valid. But it can beargued that it is not sound.


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Sample Criticisms:

Premise 3: All acts which do violence to a natural goalundermine our dignity

This seems very strong! Presumably there are acts whichpromote one or more natural goals but violate others. Do theseall undermine our dignity?

What about our autonomy? If an act does violence to a naturalgoal but respects our autonomy, is our dignity still undermined?

Perhaps we need to clarify the meaning of “dignity” . . .


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The Argument From Self Interest


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Take a minute to look again at Gay-Williams’s “argument fromself interest” (pages 99–100 in the reading). Think about howyou would summarize it to a friend who is not taking thiscourse.


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Here’s one way to summarize Gay-Williams’s argument fromself interest:

1 Euthanasia is an act which may possibly work against thepatient’s best interests

2 All acts which may possibly work against the patient’sbest interests are morally wrong



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With your neighbor, briefly discuss the following question: isthe argument from self interest a “good” argument?


2 All acts which may possibly work against the patient’s bestinterests are morally wrong



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2 All acts which may possibly work against the patient’s bestinterests are morally wrong


The above argument is valid, but it can be argued that it is notsound


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Sample Criticisms:

Premise 2: All acts which may possibly work against thepatient’s best interests are morally wrong

This seems incredibly strong!

For example, withdrawing treatment, which GW doesn’t countas euthanasia, may possibly work against the patient’s bestinterest. Does this mean it is morally wrong?

Again, we may also wonder about autonomy.


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The Argument From Practical Effects


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The Argument From PracticalEffects

Take a minute to look again at Gay-Williams’s “argument frompractical effects” (pages 99–100 in the reading). Think abouthow you would summarize it to a friend who is not taking thiscourse.


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Here’s one way to summarize the argument from practicaleffects:

1 Approving euthanasia will lead to bad consequences(decline in the standard of medical care, cases ofinvoluntary euthanasia)

2 If approving euthanasia will lead to bad consequences thenit should not be approved

3 Euthanasia should not be approved


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Together with your neighbor, briefly discuss the followingquestion: is the argument from practical effects a “good”argument?

1 Approving euthanasia will lead to bad consequences (decline inthe standard of medical care, cases of involuntary euthanasia)

2 If approving euthanasia will lead to bad consequences then itshould not be approved



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1 Approving euthanasia will lead to bad consequence (decline inthe standard of medical care, cases of involuntary euthanasia)

2 If approving euthanasia will lead to bad consequences then itshould not be approved


The argument above is valid, but again it can be argued that itis not sound.


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Sample Criticisms:

Premise 1: Approving euthanasia will lead to bad consequences(decline in the standard of medical care, cases of involuntaryeuthanasia)

How likely are these consequences? Are they avoidable?


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Sample Criticisms:

Premise 2: If approving euthanasia will lead to badconsequences then it should not be approved

What about the benefits? If the pros outweigh the cons, shouldit still not be approved?


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Questions to Think About

Can you come up with other, more persuasive argumentsagainst (active) euthanasia?

Can you think of persuasive arguments in favor of (active)euthanasia?


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Exit Ticket

Briefly describe and explain one point that came up in classtoday that you thought was either (i) important; (b)interesting; or (c) that you found confusing

Remember to write your name on your exit ticket and submitas you leave


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Bibliography

J. Gay-Williams. The wrongfulness of euthanasia. In R. Bairdand S. Rosenbaum, editors, Euthanasia: The Moral Issues.Prometheus Books, 1989.

Introduction to Philosophy - Euthanasia€¦ · Introduction to Philosophy Euthanasia The Argument From Nature The Argument From Self Interest The Argument From Practical E ects References

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