Active and Passive Euthanasia - 1012 Words

PHI 2630- Introduction to Ethics April 20, 2013 Active and Passive Euthanasia Most moral codes state that killing another human being is morally wrong. I would agree that to kill another human being in the heat of anger, for material gain or in the event of committing a crime would be morally wrong. But I feel that our moral codes are lacking in certain areas and do not take into account some situations where killing another human being would be morally acceptable. This type of killing would be to end the person’s suffering only. These cases the killing would be called active and passive euthanasia. Active euthanasia â€Å"taking a direct action to kill someone, to carry out a â€Å"mercy killing†. (Vaughn, 2010) â€Å"Passive Euthanasia is†¦show more content†¦I would argue in favor for the case of active euthanasia where a patient, bedridden, in excruciating pain from cancer, to end their suffering. The patient knows they are terminal and they have no happiness to look forward to, their days are limited to endless pain. The pa tient feels they are a burden to their family both financially and physically, as the family members are handling all the daily care of the patient. If the patient asks for medication to end their life it should be given. It is not so different than Hospice care, where medications are given to keep the patient comfortable from the pain. As the pain increases, so does the dosages of the pain medicines, until eventually the patient slips into a coma due to organ failure from the pain medication or overdoses. The patient is able to choose the moment to end their suffering if allowed to determine when they would ingest the medicine. The major concern in any cases of euthanasia would come if a person were in such a state and had not left any instructions. Would the person want to die in this case? Is there a possibility of recovery? If recovery is possible, is the personal representative or family member requesting euthanasia going to benefit from the person’s death? Ca ses such as these give argument to not allowing either active or passive euthanasia. In conclusion, we know the human body only survives for a finite amount of time. Our cells are constantlyShow MoreRelatedEuthanasia And Passive And Active Euthanasia1335 Words   |  6 PagesEuthanasia, with a Greek origin meaning â€Å"good death† or â€Å"easy death,† has been a controversial topic for a fairly long time. In more lexical terms, euthanasia is known as the act of ending a life due to an incurable disease or a suffering that one should not bear. In this paper, I will be providing an in depth look of what passive and active euthanasia is. The lexical distinction between passive and euthanasia is one actively killing another, and the other being the act of allowing one to die. IRead MoreActive Euthanasia And Passive Euthanasia917 Words   |  4 Pages Active euthanasia Active euthanasia is also known as â€Å"assistant suicide.† Euthanasia is usually used for people suffering from terrible pain and incurable disease. Some people relate euthanasia to suicide. However, euthanasia is very different than suicide and taking someone off their life support. I believe active euthanasia is better than passive euthanasia and will demonstrate my opinions. The different between active euthanasia from passive euthanasia is let the patients less suffering, lessRead MoreActive and Passive Euthanasia1976 Words   |  8 PagesSection: Philosophy 1318 Article: â€Å"Active and Passive Euthanasia† by James Rachels Author’s Thesis: There is no principal difference between active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. Argument for Rachel’s Thesis: Active euthanasia is in many cases more humane than passive euthanasia. Intentions and actions are two separate ideas which cannot be compared. He also explains how inaction is still an action because there is a consequence. When performing euthanasia, no matter the intentions, someoneRead MoreActive Euthanasia And Passive Euthanasia Essay2120 Words   |  9 Pages Active euthanasia is a subject that is raising a lot of concern in today’s society on whether or not it should be legalized and under what circumstances should it be allowed. This is a very tricky subject due to its ability to be misused and abused. There are a wide variety of things that need to be considered when it comes to who should be allowed to request active euthanasia such as, is it an autonomous choice, do they have a terminal illness, is their quality of life dramatically decreased, andRead MoreEuthanasi Active And Passive Euthanasia1634 Words   |  7 Pagesof Alaba ma, wrote a paper called Active and Passive Euthanasia where he argues against the distinction between killing in letting die. He says that the distinction is made on morally irrelevant grounds. He says that the distinction between passive and active euthanasia should not be based on whether or not wanted more morally permissible then the other. To prove his point Rachel uses three dif-ferent examples, which included different circumstance where euthanasia is involved. He looks at each exampleRead MoreEuthanasi Active And Passive Euthanasia995 Words   |  4 Pagesabout euthanasia in such depth until this assignment. It isn’t something completely new to me because I have heard about it, it happens everywhere, even if you or I don’t see it. But, I never gathered my thoughts about such a serious topic. Reading such opinions from these authors made me find out more about this topic but I cannot say I have came to a clear and set decision or opinion about euthanasia. As James Rachels states, â€Å"I can understand why some people are opposed to all euthanasia, and insistRead MoreEuthanasi Passive Euthanasia And Active Euthanasia Essay1927 Words   |  8 Pageschoosing euthanasia. The family or caregiver may pressure the patient into choosing euthanasia just so they could be relieved of the burden of caring for said patient. This may happen because the family or caregiver has had a lot of pressure put onto them. Financial burden being a leading factor. Although there is no data that completely verifies this possible problem, opponents argue that it can be a possible issue and that it should be addressed. (Ezekiel 637). There are two types of euthanasia. PassiveRead MoreEuthanasi Active And Passive Euthanasia1562 Words   |  7 PagesEuthanasia, also known as voluntary or assisted suicide, is used for terminally ill patients to end their lives instead of undergoing painful treatments and torment of waiting for death. There are, however, two different ways in which A can bring about B’s death. In this essay I will present the distinction between active and passive euthanasia as explained by James Rachels in his article called â€Å"Active and Passive Euthanasia†. I will also debate whether euthanasia is justified or not by presentingRead MoreActive And Passive Euthanasia Essay1739 Words   |  7 Pages Rachels and Brock In â€Å"Active and Passive Euthanasia† Rachels demonstrates the similarities between passive and active euthanasia. He claims that if one is permissible, than the other must also be accessible to a patient who prefers that particular fate. Rachels spends the majority of the article arguing against the recommendations of the AMA. The AMA proposes that active euthanasia contradicts what the medical profession stands for. The AMA thinks that ending a person’s life is ethically wrongRead MoreThe Argument Of Active And Passive Euthanasia1240 Words   |  5 Pagesarticle, Active and Passive Euthanasia,† In his article Rachel’s argues that both passive and active euthanasia are morally permissible and the doctors that is supported by the American Medical Association(AMA) is believed to be unsound. In this paper I will offer a thorough analysis of Rachel’s essay then so offer a critique in opposition of his arguments. In conclusion I will refute these op positions claims by defending Rachel’s argument, and showing why I believe his claims that both active and passive

Technology, Educational Purposes, Communication, And Other...

Today technology can have many different uses. People use technology for entertainment, educational purposes, communication, and other everyday uses. In 1984, Big brother uses telescreens, a speakwrite,memory holes, microphones, and helicopters to secure control throughout Oceania. By using these technologies, Big Brother has raised fear and awareness in his citizens to keep them in line. Big Brother also uses technology to control their minds in certain ways. Telescreens are the primary way Big Brother uses technology to secure control in Oceania. Telescreens are large screens that are placed in homes and public venues. Telescreens work as two way mirrors, because whoever is looking can see out but not in. In 1984 it says,†¦show more content†¦In 1984 it says, â€Å"By sitting in the alcove, and keeping well back, Winston was able to remain outside the range of the telescreen, so far as sight went. He could be heard of course, but so long as he stayed in his present position he could not be seen. It was partly the unusual geography if the room that had suggested to him the thing that he was now about to do.† (pg. 6) This quote is describing Winston’s flat and how everything is positioned. Winston notices that the telescreen, in his flat, is positioned in away that he can sit somewhere else and not be seen. The unordinary position of Winston’s flat had quite the influence on him doing what he was about to do, which was writing in a journal . The fact that Winston felt a little bit of excitement, when noticing that he’s able to be out of the telescreen range, shows the heavy weight being lifted off of Winston’s shoulders. Big Brother uses telescreens to secure control by causing the citizens of Oceania to be aware of being watched and heard. The presence of a telescreen is just a physical reminder that’s saying â€Å"Watch what you do and say.† winston , who realized his hidden space o the telescreen, started disobeying they unspoken rule, which is to not write in a diary, and started writing in a diary. The telescreen ensures control by making sure no one breaks the rules. Along with telescreens, microphones and helicopters also

Woolf and Mcewan How the Modern Became Postmodern Free Essays

Ian McEwan’s Atonement draws inspiration from and alludes to a vast number of 20th century modernist authors and works, both stylistically and thematically. For a novel to be considered a successful culmination to the reading of a large body of works, however, it must not be content with merely echoing the themes, styles, and forms of the past. Rather, it must extend them, add to them creatively, and attempt to pull them into contemporary readership. We will write a custom essay sample on Woolf and Mcewan: How the Modern Became Postmodern or any similar topic only for you Order Now While his thematic and stylistic allusions to 20th century greats such as Virginia Woolf show his intellectual knowledge of and debt to 20th century modernist writing, it is McEwan’s ability to transform these stylistic and thematic elements and mold them into a postmodern classic that makes Atonement a more than adequate culmination to the readings of a 20th century British Literature course. Stylistically, McEwan draws most heavily from the works of Virginia Woolf for the opening portion of Atonement. The slow pace of the opening, allowing for the painstakingly detailed description of nearly every scene, in addition to the examination of the psychological motives of multiple main characters, closely mirrors the style of Virginia Woolf, which she incorporates into the majority of her works. To quote a characteristically slow paced, though psychologically enriched, passage from the opening of Woolf’s Between the Acts, â€Å"Mrs. Manresa bubbled up, enjoying her own capacity to surmount, without turning a hair, this minor social crisis—this laying on of two more plates. For had she not complete faith in flesh and blood? and aren’t we all flesh and blood? and how silly to make bones of trifles when we’re all flesh and blood under the skin† (Woolf 39). The passage, to one unfamiliar with the stylistically innovative style of Woolf, seems to meander under the weight of an overly descriptive narrative and, more prominently, under the psychological musings of a character that, until a few pages previous, was nonexistent to the reader. The majority of Between the Acts contains passages of a similar style, of which this is only one randomly chosen example. As is true of many of the passages that can be found in any Woolfian novel, advancing the storyline is secondary to fleshing out the motives, thoughts, and feelings of the characters. With the plot safely set behind in-depth psychological examination in rank of importance, Woolf is free to experiment with a stream-of-consciousness style narrative in which psychological elements of the story feature more prominently than physical elements. In addition to the stream-of-consciousness for which she is well known, there are other characteristics common to much of Woolf’s work. For example, she has the tendency to describe a scene, more often than not, a natural scene, in painstaking detail, reluctant to add action that would too quickly further the narrative. Another passage from Between the Acts provides and adequate example of this, reading, â€Å"Here came the sun—an illimitable rapture of joy, embracing every flower, every leaf. Then in compassion it withdrew, covering its face, as if it forebore to look on human suffering. There was a fecklessness, a lack of symmetry and order in the clouds as they thinned and thicked. Was it their law, or no law they obeyed? † (Woolf 23). This description of nature essentially is of no consequence to the narrative yet the full passage describing the weather proceeds for almost a full page. The flowing, exceptionally detailed descriptions coinciding with an apparently lacking story line and an in-depth psychological view that the reader is privy to as a result of the stream-of-consciousness style, are all aspects of Woolfian literature that McEwan attempts to draw from and mold to his own postmodernist designs. While McEwan draws inspiration from Woolf in a way that would be just as simple for an author of less talent to do, his aims are far deeper reaching than an author who simply wishes to garner a comparison to Virginia Woolf. McEwan does borrow quite clearly from the stylings of Woolf, even commenting it upon it himself, writing, â€Å"we wondered if it owed a little too much to the techniques of Mrs. Woolf† (McEwan 294). Rather than be content with merely keeping her modernist conventions intact, however, he completely alters their meaning within the context of his own novel. In the opening portions of Atonement, for example, McEwan, in quite a similar way as Woolf, attempts to gain entry to the psychological depths of his characters. With the exception of a few broad passages required to move the story forward through dialogue or action, the majority of the opening is devoted to the internal monologues of the characters and an examination of their needs, desires, and feelings. This is clearly defined in the earliest pages as the ovel provides passages such as, â€Å"She wanted to leave, she wanted to lie alone, facedown on her bed and savor the vile piquancy of the moment, and go back down the lines of branching consequence to the point before the destruction began† (McEwan 14). This passage, one of many in a similar style throughout Atonement, attempts, in a stream-of-consciousness in the classic Woolfian sense, to examine the inner psyche of the character rather than force any sort physical, tangible action to occur. In this way, the storyâ€⠄¢s narrative may seem slow paced while the characters’ motives become more well known to the reader. This borrowing stylistically from Woolf is not necessarily important or groundbreaking, and is certainly no deciding factor in whether this novel should be viewed as a classic in coming decades. There have been many authors who have devoted the entirety of their works to the stream-of-consciousness fiction that Woolf helped to pioneer. As mentioned above, what makes McEwan an author deserving of longevity in his works is that the allusions are not merely presented, but are completely altered from their original meaning by the context of Atonement. He takes deeply alluded to modernist conventions and makes them Briony’s primary source of inspiration, seen most clearly when she ponders the new school of authors and realizes, â€Å"She no longer really believed in characters. They were quaint devices that belonged to the nineteenth century†¦Plots too were like rusted machinery whose wheels would no longer turn†¦It was thought, perception, and sensations that interested he, the conscious mind and how to represent its onward roll† (McEwan 265). There is a certain depth and complexity in the fact that McEwan represents these modernist conventions not as his own, but as those of a thirteen year old girl, the central character of his metanarrative. What McEwan does next with these modernist principles of writing is attempt to show that they too are vestiges of the past, doomed to fall in the face of a more ethical and moral fiction. Just as Briony rejects the realism of the authors of the nineteenth century, McEwan is rejecting the modernism of the 20th century in favor of a postmodernism. One of Briony’s internal monologues to which the reader is privy, begins, â€Å"The interminable pages about light and stone and water, a narrative split between three points of view, the hovering stillness of nothing much seeming to happen—none of this could conceal her cowardice† (McEwan 302). These characteristics, all of which have been shown to influence Woolfian literature, have all failed Briony’s attempt to hide what she knows she has done. The monologue continues in a similar vein with, â€Å"Did she really think she could hide behind some borrowed notions of modern writing, and drown her guilt in a stream—three streams! —of consciousness? †(McEwan 302). Her guilt and the moral and ethical implications of what she has done cannot be fixed through some outdated ideas of modernist fiction, which has no ethical consequences. There are allusions from dozens of modernists authors sprinkled throughout the length of Atonement. Unfortunately, the scope of this paper can give only one of the most prominent. In a similar fashion as with the Woolf example, however, McEwan nearly always thoughtfully engages the text to which he is alluding, but is not content to merely allow these allusions to sit idly in the novel with no sense of purpose. Rather, each of his numerous allusions has some greater purpose in Atonement as McEwan artfully transforms them into something that fits the overall scope of what he attempts to accomplish. Still, the question remains whether or not this book is an adequate culmination of all the readings in a 20th century British literature course. The fact that Atonement not only draws from modernist writers, many of whom are the focus of the aforementioned course, but attempts to extend them creatively and transform them from the 20th century modern to the 21st century postmodern makes Atonement an excellent novel and a fine culmination of a semester of 20th century British literature. Works Cited McEwan, Ian. Atonement. New York: Anchor Books, 2001. Woolf, Virginia. Between the Acts. New York: Harcourt, 2001. How to cite Woolf and Mcewan: How the Modern Became Postmodern, Essay examples