PHIL 259 Lecture Notes - Lecture 28: Extraordinary Measures, Principle Of Double Effect, Negative And Positive Rights

• School: University of Calgary
• Department: Philosophy
• Course: PHIL 259
• Professor: David Boutland

Document Summary

Lecture 28: active and passive euthanasia: a response (steinbock) Is withdrawal of treatment permitted as a means to death: difference between killing and letting die is not the main issue, an unassailable right to refuse treatment, ordinary vs. extraordinary measures. Act (withdrawal treatment) bad effect (death) good effect (end of pain) 1: ordinary treatment is required, but extraordinary is not. How do we draw the line: proportionality: weighing costs, risks, burdens, with benefits to patient. An appeal to rights: negative rights, rights of non-interference, positive rights, rights of recipience. It is often assumed negative rights are more fundamental than positive rights, and thus harder to override. Another bare difference argument: rescue 1/ rescue 2 case (phillipa foot, rescue 1, 4 friends are drowning; need to be rescued by you. On your way to the lake, you see someone dying in the ditch.