<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p>The question of what might constitute “good dying” is a sensitive subject that is being discussed and is socially and politically controversial. My contribution discusses whether a reference to concepts such as autonomy and dignity in the debate over suicide and euthanasia is in fact convincing. Important impulses for the train of thought stem from Kantian philosophy. I will argue that suicide, as presented by Kant, is not an expression of autonomy, but exactly the opposite: an expression of heteronomy.</p></abstract>

The question of what might constitute “good dying” is a sensitive subject that is being discussed and is socially and politically controversial. My contribution discusses whether a reference to concepts such as autonomy and dignity in the debate over suicide and euthanasia is in fact convincing. Important impulses for the train of thought stem from Kantian philosophy. I will argue that suicide, as presented by Kant, is not an expression of autonomy, but exactly the opposite: an expression of heteronomy.

Dying in dignity

Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences

Ethics & Bioethics

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

{"article-title":"Dying in dignity"}

The question of what might constitute “good dying” is a sensitive subject that is being discussed and is socially and politically controversial. My...

Dying in dignity

Published Online: Jun 12, 2020

Page range: 10 - 19

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2020-0003

Keywords
autonomy, dignity, euthanasia, Kant

© 2020 Marcus Knaup, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Dying in dignity

Published Online: Jun 12, 2020

Page range: 10 - 19

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/ebce-2020-0003

Keywordsautonomy, dignity, euthanasia, Kant

© 2020 Marcus Knaup, published by Sciendo

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 3.0 License.

Keywords
autonomy, dignity, euthanasia, Kant