Abstract
Is death ever preferable to life? Asking that question may say something about a society needing to define its priorities so that individuals have some ground rules for how we are expected to live together in that society. The question may also represent an individual’s quest to determine how high a value he will put upon life, both in terms of his own life and other peoples lives for which he may be given responsibility by society. An example is when a duty of care is established between a doctor and a patient.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Endnotes
Rachels J. The Elements of Moral Philosophy. Random House, New York. 1986, 13.
Gervais KG. Redefining Death. Yale University Press, New Haven 1986, 44.
Fletcher J. Indications of humanhood: A tentative profile of man. The Hastings Centre Report, 1972; 2 (5): 1–4.
Devine P. The Ethics of Homicide. University of Notre Dame Press, Notre Dame 1990, 23–31.
Christman J. Autonomy and Personal History. Canadian Journal of Philosophy, 1991; 21: 1–24.
Miller BL. Autonomy and the refusal of life saving treatment. The Hastings Centre Report, August 1981: 22–29.
Young R, Personal Autonomy. Croom Helm, London, 1986, 8.
Walton D. Slippery Slope Arguments. Clarendon Press, Oxford, 1992, 1–206.
Strosberg MA, Wiener JM, Baker R, Fein IA eds. Rationing America’s Medical Care: The Oregon Plan and Beyond. The Brookings Institute, Washington D.C., 1992.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2002 Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Olver, I.N. (2002). In the Beginning. In: Is Death Ever Preferable to Life?. International Library of Ethics, Law, and the New Medicine, vol 14. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1976-6_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-94-017-1976-6_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Dordrecht
Print ISBN: 978-90-481-6178-2
Online ISBN: 978-94-017-1976-6
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive