1. Jack Kevorkian's actions are morally excusable. The key point in the question is the term "fully autonomous in seeking euthanasia". This meant that the patient is fully aware of everything icluding the consequences. In fact, in both the machines that Jack Kevorkian used in doing euthanasia (The thacitron which used a needle that delivered the drugs through an IV and the Mercitron which used a gas mask fed with a canister of carbon monoxide), it is the patients themselves that is given the chance to press the button that is going to release the chemicals that would end their life. By being fully autonomous meant that the patient is accepting responsibility for his death. Kevorkian was only there to assist. Besides, the patient might have been requesting for euthanasia because he is experiencing a tremendous amount of pain. Why should we hinder a person from undergoing euthanasia when we are not the ones who are experiencing their pain? So I think that kevorkian's actions are excusable. If there is on ething that could make his actions unexcusable, that is the fact that the act of euthanasia itself is still unacceptable in our society.
2. I was a little bit confused with the term personal moral system because I'm not sure if it refers to a previously discussed ethical theory which i am willing to adopt or if I have to invent my own moral system. Either way, I want to adopt a system which is very much like existentialism. In existentialism, existence precedes essence. So I am like a writer which has been given pieces of blank paper. I am free to write whatever I would like to write in that paper. I am free to write my own story, to change it whenever I like and to write another one if the story is not as good as it turned out to be as long as I still have remaining pieces of paper. That's what I love about existentialism. It gives me freedom. Freedom with responsibilities! Because we determine our own human nature, our own essence through our decisions and choices, whatever that we have become right now and whatever we are going to be in the future, is fully our responsibility. And although the existing norms and rules of our society somehow comes in conflict with our freedom and individualism, the fact that we still have the freedom to choose whether to obey or not shows that we habe freedom.
maam it is so unfair. I have already made a very long answer and was about to post it when suddenly the computer exited the site and when I got back, my answers were gone. So I only have less than 7minutes to retype my answer before 12noon which is not as good as the original one.
Sun Mar 29, 2009 11:21 pm