A Kantian moral duty for the soon-to-be demented to commit suicide

被引:40
|
作者
Cooley, Dennis R. [1 ]
机构
[1] N Dakota State Univ, No Plains Eth Inst, Fargo, ND 58105 USA
来源
AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BIOETHICS | 2007年 / 7卷 / 06期
关键词
dementia; duty; Kant; obligation; suicide;
D O I
10.1080/15265160701347478
中图分类号
B82 [伦理学(道德学)];
学科分类号
摘要
It has been argued that, on Kantian grounds, pedophiles, rapists and murderers are morally obligated to take their own lives prior to committing a violent action that will end their moral agency. That is, to avoid destroying the agent's moral life by performing a morally suicidal action, the agent, while he still is a moral agent, should end his body's life. Although the cases of dementia and the morally reprehensible are vastly different, this Kantian interpretation might be useful in the debate on the permissibility of suicide for those facing dementia's effects. If moral agents have a duty to act as moral agents, then those who will lose their moral identity as moral agents have an obligation to themselves to end their physical lives prior to losing their dignity as persons.
引用
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页码:37 / 44
页数:8
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