The Ethics Of Killing Life Death And Human Nature 1st Edition Christian Erk by Christian Erk 9783031071829, 3031071824 instant download after payment.

John Henry Newman (1982: 375) once said: “Reflect, Gentlemen, how many disputes you must have listened to, which were interminable, because neither party either understood either his opponent or himself”. The ethical (im)permissibility of killing human beings is one of those interminable disputes. All of us accept that killing a human being is ethically impermissible in general. There is, however, widespread and continuing disagreement once we zoom in on particular cases of killing such as suicide, abortion and euthanasia. This book is not so bold or overconfident that it attempts to settle this debate for good. When it comes to the problem of the ethical (im)permissibility of the above-mentioned and other kinds of killings one must realistically admit that the lines have been drawn for a long time. The essential arguments in favor or against the specific kinds of killing have also been on the table for a long time. And, unfortunately, the discussion has been going in circles for decades. While both sides can and do refine already existing arguments, neither side comes up with substantially new arguments. What separates the camps of the proponents and opponents of these killing practices is not so much their conclusions, that is, the fact that they deem some practices ethically permissible or impermissible. What actually separates them are the premises from which the respective conclusions are derived.