User:Samuel Daniel/sandbox

EUTHANASIA: A JUSTIFIABLE CAUSE?

Euthanasia also known as physician-assisted suicide or doctor-assisted suicide or better still Merciful killing, is the practice of intentionally and painlessly killing of another to end such individual's pains or suffering,usually with the consent of the concerned individual. Euthanasia is with the intention of terminating a life to relieve intractable ( persistent,unstoppable ) suffering. In the philosophical sense, Euthanasia(the action of ending another man's life) becomes a moral issue or ethical problem because the moral agents are not only directly involved but also affected. Euthanasia fits in properly under the branch of philisophy known as Ethics,specifically Applied ethics. Applied ethics is that sub-division of ethics that is concerned with the rigorous and critical examination of real - life situations. In other words, Applied ethics is the practical application of ethical theories to crucial issues of life,among which arw euthenasia, abortion, human rights etc. Questions that arise under applied ethics include; " What is morality?","Is abortion a moral act?", "Is euthanasia immoral?", To what extent is euthanasia justified? If yes, why ? If no, why not? "Is affirmative action right or wrong?", "What are human rights, and how do we determine them?" and "Do animals have rights as well?"

Euthanasia,a very debatable topic over the world was one of the chosen topics of JAW WAR'16-a public speaking competition in the premier university of Ibadan. There were arguments in support as well as in opposition to the justification of euthanasia.One of the speakers asserted: *"Even the control J of my microsoft word cannot justify euthanasia, whether you call it mercy killing or ronaldo killing, it is still killing".( Mr Adekunle Adebajo, 2016).*

Over the years,Euthanasia has been legalized in few countries,to the exception of many notable countries. However, from some individuals' point of view, there is nothing bad in euthanasia.

I strongly believe euthanasia is morally wrong, even though there have been questions of what itself is Morality. The moral doctrine does not support the murder of another being. Also, it is perfectly said the human life possesses the ultimate value and according to Section 33 of the 1999 constitution of the federal republic of Nigeria, everyone is entitled to the "right to life" and no account should a man take another's life unlawfully. The major argument in support of the topic boils down to putting end to the pains or suffering of any terminally ill patient. But it does not only end the pain or suffering but the life of the patient. Once a life is lost, it cannot be revived. It would be both sad and regretful if the cure for an illness is discovered barely a day to when a life was terminated because the illness was incurable and euthanasia was considered the best option. I suppose there are drugs that lessens pains and Discoveries are made everyday. Many curable ailments today, was once incurable. Also,Many who justifies euthanasia believes the victim decides what is best for him/her. Of course it is the patient's life, but circumstances call for the family decision, and besides, it is only synonymous to taking one's life-SUICIDE. Nometheless,It should be noted, that humans are programmed to be innately self - preservative. In ethics, it is understood that the first instinct of man is self-preservation. Aristotle defines man as a rational animal and Rationality is the capacity to reason logically and make informed judgments. For a sick person who desires to end his/her life, it may be due to mental or psychological disorder, perhaps a slight one. Or even a temporal error of judgment that would never be corrected if carried out. Life is very delicate and cannot be redeemed once it is lost. It would be very sad to end a sick person's life by euthanasia when it is likely that they are making a very wrong decision without careful considerations. The topic: "euthanasia- a justified act" is indeed a very controversial one which have been on for a very long time.
 * MY PERCEPTION*

In my own view, There are two perspectives to the topic viz à viz:

(It should be noted that after a careful research and reason on the arguments of euthanasia, I ,Samuel Daniel,a promising philosopher have come to discovering two theories).

RELATIVISM This theory opines that the justificatiom of Euthanasia depends on the subjective view of an individual. It varies from the intention of an individual to the consequence of such act.The relativistic perspective is not to affirm that euthenasia is wrong or right but to say it is right or wrong is not an absolute claim, hence everyone have their own side of the topic.

ABSOLUTISM This,on the other hand,opines that euthanasia would never be justifiable, it is SUICIDAL,regardless of what any person, group of persons, culture or society, may hold as a belief or thought about euthanasia. Euthanasia should not exist. Absolutist perspective holds that it is completely and morally wrong to carry out euthanasia on any sick person.

SAMUEL DANIEL & ADERONKE. ©2017