1. Euthanasia and applying ethical theories
Michael Lacewing
© Michael Lacewing

2. Euthanasia 6 types Involuntary, voluntary, non-voluntary
Passive, active

3. Utilitarian thoughts Act utilitarianism
Look at each act of euthanasia individually; not making a rule
Involuntary: person doesn’t want to die, so is made unhappy by the thought of their death
Voluntary: person does want to die, often believing they will be less unhappy by dying
No significant difference between active and passive

4. Two practical points Morality v. legality Don’t get into metaethics
Whether a practice should be legalized is a separate debate from whether it is moral acceptable.
Don’t get into metaethics
The premise of practical ethics is that we are searching for the (or a) right thing to do. So don’t start talking about relativism or subjectivism.

5. Deontology What kind of action is euthanasia? Slippery slope
Active: more like murder, in that there is intervention to cause death
Passive: often combined with intended pain relief
Slippery slope
An action that is permitted may incline people to perform actions that aren’t permitted.

6. Two more practical points
Separate empirical (sociology, psychology) from philosophical
Don’t spend long discussing whether or not the slippery slope would actually occur.
The conclusion is often conditional
It is not just acceptable, but good, to say ‘if it turns out like this, then this follows’. E.g. ‘if allowing voluntary euthanasia in some cases caused people to seek it wrongly, then it would be wrong to allow it at all’

7. Complexity So is voluntary euthanasia permissible? Utilitarianism
Pro: Individual’s suffer differently
Con: Allowing it has bad consequences, e.g. looking at better alternatives
Deontology
Pro: passive eu is not unjust, and is charitable
Con: bringing about death unnecessarily is always wrong

8. Two final practical points
Avoid oversimplification
Normative theories might not deliver just one answer, but give reasons both for and against. Noting this is important for evaluation.
Don’t say ‘Who knows? Who can say?’
You are the thinker – this is your attempt to try to say.
Why think practical ethics should or could be easy?