Draft: Singer and Suffering
The philosophical lens is a perspective that analyzes the world view that is used to discuss the topic outlined. Advancements in medicine have enabled scenarios that older schools of thought are unable to deal with. How does one deal with patients in a permanent vegetative state, or infants born with a crippling and painful disorder? As healthcare progresses, so must the philosophical ethics used to govern the implementation of medicinal technology.
Peter Singer’s Writings on an Ethical Life and his philosophy have one objective: the minimization of pain, regardless of whom or what the pain originates from. By applying this tightly focused ideology to medical situations, controversial solutions arise. Abortions and early infanticide are justified for “a life not worth living,” to minimize the suffering said child would go through because of a physiological disorder or unwilling parents (205). This in turn, could be extended even further to euthanasia and the acceptance of selective eugenics. Many will argue that the potential happiness that the aborted child could have had can and should override the parents’ will. However, the lack of consciousness and self-awareness of the child means the child’s nonexistent aspirations are negligible in weight compared to face of the conscious awareness of the parents. Time's value stems from the visceral enjoyment of living; just as time is meaningless to the dead, time is also meaningless to the humans whose humanity is irretrievably destroyed.
Peter Singer’s Writings on an Ethical Life and his philosophy have one objective: the minimization of pain, regardless of whom or what the pain originates from. By applying this tightly focused ideology to medical situations, controversial solutions arise. Abortions and early infanticide are justified for “a life not worth living,” to minimize the suffering said child would go through because of a physiological disorder or unwilling parents (205). This in turn, could be extended even further to euthanasia and the acceptance of selective eugenics. Many will argue that the potential happiness that the aborted child could have had can and should override the parents’ will. However, the lack of consciousness and self-awareness of the child means the child’s nonexistent aspirations are negligible in weight compared to face of the conscious awareness of the parents. Time's value stems from the visceral enjoyment of living; just as time is meaningless to the dead, time is also meaningless to the humans whose humanity is irretrievably destroyed.
