死ぬ義務あるいは家族と自己決定

概要

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Placing the family in the center of ethical judgements, John Hardwig has proposed a duty to die. In this paper his theory is critically examined. When we were a burden on our loved family memters, we have such a duty. We should die responsibly. If we were coward and ego-centric to prolong our life, we should be accused as immoral. In an anonymous society, egoism might be plausible. However, in a loving family it is to be abandoned. It affirms our sense of who we are and endows our death with dignity to die for the sake of our loved ones' future. We would see most critics opposed to Hardwig as insufficient or out of point. Their alternative propositions are scarce of reality. Some insist the East Asian principle of autonomy is based on family-determination. Some believe the concept and practice of informed consent must, when imported, be modified so as to fit in with the Japanese family-centered biomedical ethics. When considering a duty to die, it appears we should examine more deeply what family is, what love is, and what is the architectural matter of the Japanese biomedical ethics?
2001-10-20