Dworkin’s defense of paternalism
Deciding to take an addicting drug
prevents you from being able to make
decisions for yourself in a rational manner.
So the state is justified in intervening
Refusing a blood transfusion or refusing to
put on your seatbelt is acting in a way that
goes against your own well being.
Suicide is often chosen in emotionally
stressful times.
Brandt on Suicide
Is suicide wrong? Always? Sometimes?
When is a person blameworthy for
committing suicide?
A person can do something wrong and yet
not be blameworthy. Someone can act on
a mistaken belief, or be of unsound mind
Theological arguments against
suicide
Committing suicide goes against God’s will
(thou shalt not kill)
Committing suicide goes against the
specific purposes God may have for us
Brandt: Controversial interpretation of
commandment and need special reasons
to prove that God does not allow human
beings to end their lives.
Natural law arguments
Everything naturally loves itself. Killing
one’s self goes against this natural selflove.
Kant’s claim that the purpose of self love is
to preserve life, not end it.
Brandt: This may be usually true, but why
suppose that there are not exceptions?
Suicide harms other persons
Aristotle: it is a crime against the state
Depriving society of a valuable member
But some people are just not that important
What about suffering of family members?
It is a legitimate consideration but admits of
degrees. Does not show suicide always
wrong.
Suicide is justified if it is the decision that
the person would make given all relevant
information, including not just present
preferences but also preferences that one
would have in the future.
Reasons why suicide is often the
wrong choice
People know their immediate desires, but
do not know as well the desires they will
develop later.
Most suicides are decided in periods of
depression, when one’s cognitive ability to
weigh the facts is impaired.
People often give undue preference to the
immediate future as opposed to the long
term.
Suicide is sometimes morally permissible,
but we can only know this after sober
consideration of the facts.
People have an obligation to aid a person
who is suicidal. This is an instance of the
general obligation to aid those in distress.
Sometimes the obligation is to aid the
person in committing suicide, sometimes
to prevent it.