Peter Singer's attempt in escaping the trap of ethical relativism when approaching matters concerning consequentialism in this case, euthanasia

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Our staff of freelance writers includes over 120 experts proficient in Peter Singer's attempt in escaping the trap of ethical relativism when approaching matters concerning consequentialism in this case, euthanasia, therefore you can rest assured that your assignment will be handled by only top rated specialists. Order your Peter Singer's attempt in escaping the trap of ethical relativism when approaching matters concerning consequentialism in this case, euthanasia paper at affordable prices with livepaperhelp.com! To answer the question, we must first of all look at what consequentialism is about in utilitarianism according to Peter Singer in his book Practical Ethics. It is the view that the goodness or badness of an action depends on the final outcome of the situation. In utilitarianism, it aims to maximize the interests such as pleasures and happiness in a group. The objective of ethics is to go beyond mere self-interest and to lead to the greater good of the people. In a religious sense, ethics is also similar to the Golden Rule, found in the book of Leviticus which asks of the people "to go beyond our own personal interests and 'love thy neighbour as thyself in other words, give the same weight to the interests of others as one gives to one's own interests."(11) In ethics, there are two classifications that Singer has outlined in the book and they are ethical absolutism and ethical relativism. Ethical absolutism believes that ethical values are built upon unchanging moral codes like the law whereas ethical relativism believes the position that ethical values depend upon particular situations and are subjective.

Peter Singer strongly supports the stand of utilitarianism, as he believes in maximizing the greatest number of happiness to the greatest number of people but here in the book he seems to concentrate on the intellectual capacities and the biological make-up in order to make a judgment as to who lives or die. He shows this when giving us his perspective of euthanasia and its various definitions.

The definition of euthanasia by technical terms in the past means mercy killing or to die a peaceful and gentle death. According to Singer, "it is now used to refer to the killing of those who are incurably ill and in great pain or distress, for the sake of those killed, and in order to spare them further suffering or distress."(175) Due to the controversial nature of it, Singer then went on to describe the different types of euthanasia in the book and they are voluntary euthanasia, involuntary euthanasia and non-voluntary euthanasia.

Voluntary euthanasia is "carried out at the request if the person killed"(176) either through assisted suicide by a doctor or a written request (like a living will) for euthanasia by the person made in good health that should she or he "come to be incapable of making or expressing a decision to die, in pain, or without the use of her mental faculties, and there is no reasonable hope of recovery."(178) To the victims, this is a more dignified way to go as compared to suffering a slow and painful death they have to endure for a period of time. The victims want to have that choice to end their lives the way they want and when they want it to be. Singer gave us several examples of patients who chose to end their lives swiftly to end their physical and emotional suffering either by the lethal injection, pills or in a more drastic case, the patient's brother shot him in the temple when it was impossible for them to get the hospital to allow him to die swiftly.

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The next one he discusses in the book is involuntary euthanasia, which is "when the person killed is capable of consenting to her own death, but does not do so, either because she is not asked, or because she is asked and chooses to go on living."(17) This is the rarest of the three, as their doctors, regardless of the decisions made, usually respect wishes of the victims. The only example that I can think of at the moment would be of the prisoners on death row.

The last one is non-voluntary euthanasia, which is carried out when the victim is "not capable of understanding the choice between life and death."(17) The victims normally include "the incurably ill or severely disabled infants, and people who through accident, illness, or old age have permanently lost the capacity to understand the issue involved, without having previously requested or rejected euthanasia in these circumstances."(17) An example of this would be that of Louis Repouille's son who was described as "incurably imbecile" and had been bed-ridden since he was born and blind for five years. In order to end his son's suffering, Repouille killed him with chloroform. According to Singer, if the child was so brain damaged, he may not be capable of suffering at all and what the father did would actually count as murder. So if the child does feel suffering, it would then be cruel for the parents and the doctor to presume that that is the best arrangement for the baby knowing very well that the chances for survival is nil. How is Singer to know if a person has the ability to sense or not if he has never gone through the process himself? This is a very dubious statement that he tries to put across to us.

All these are considered as active euthanasia because actions are taken to end the victims' lives directly. The act of indirectly causing or aiding the victim's death by either the medical practitioner or otherwise to deny medications to prolong a person's life is known as passive euthanasia. Singer gave us an example of a doctor who decided not to administer antibiotics to treat an elderly lady's pneumonia because her health had deteriorated over the years and there was no way that she would ever be back to normal. This is also widely practiced in military groups stationed in war torn areas where medication are scarce and have to be severely rationed and reserved for those who are more likely to survive after receiving it. This itself is an act of utilitarianism maximizing the happiness or in this case, medical supply for the greater good.

Singer barely escapes the trap of relativism by stating that though it may be ethically wrong to kill a person but it can be done if it is justified for a good and that all desires are terminated like the desire to live or die has to be made know by the victim before the action takes place. In a sense, ethical judgment is made here as the moral dilemma of pulling the plug or not is clearly stated, the dilemmas are analyzed and prioritized by both the patient and the doctor in charge. The solution is based on the ethical right to life of the individual and that they have the final say as to how and when they want to terminate their lives due to the fact that their medical condition is beyond hope.

I think I have to agree with some of Peter Singer's views of euthanasia, as I am pro-choice, I do not believe in prolonging a person's life for selfish interests rather than for the interests of the victim. Although we are creatures of sympathy, nobody can ever put themselves in the shoes of the victims and understand the pain that they have to go through in their lives. Despite that, I feel that if the situation requires a drastic resolution such as euthanasia and that the consequences that follows are for the good of everyone and also the victim's needs are met, it should be done. Singer believes that the focus of human existence is pleasure centered, and the higher the pleasure level is, the better. If these victims continue to exist in such painful states, they will not only pull themselves down but also whoever is around them. The scenario would be similar to that of a rescue boat with a capacity of ten and having to sail away in the sea of other drowning victims. If it attempts to hold more than that, the boat will capsize, nobody will survive and the whole rescue attempt backfires.

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