Citation

Zika F. Archives of Hellenic Medicine 1998; 15(1): 90-96.

Copyright

(Copyright © 1998)

DOI

unavailable

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

The moral problem of euthanasia concerns mainly those working in the health professions. The role of moral philosophy is not so much to offer the correct solution, as to provide the theoretical and conceptual tools with which the responsible person can make decisions and act. This paper is divided into two parts. In the first part, two major theoretical approaches to euthanasia, deontology and utilitarianism are examined, criticized and defended. The inability of either theory to provide an indisputable answer to the problem has displaced the discussion towards the analysis of specific types of euthanasia. In the second part, these types are examined in terms of the two main distinctions, namely voluntary-involuntary and active-passive euthanasia, as well as their subdivisions. The contemporary debate either centers on the attempt to provide moral justification for certain types of euthanasia compared to others, or aims to abolish the distinctions, thus leading to an overall acceptance or rejection of euthanasia.

Language: el

Keywords

article; Assisted suicide; deontology; Deontology; Ethics; euthanasia; Euthanasia; health care personnel; medical ethics; morality; philosophy; suicide; Utilitarianism