Abstract
What makes killing morally wrong? And what makes killing morally worse than letting die? Standard answers to these two questions presuppose that killing someone involves shortening that person's life. Yet, as I argue in the first two sections of this article, this presupposition is false: Life-prolonging killings are conceivable. In the last two sections of the article, I explore the significance of the conceivability of such killings for various discussions of the two questions just mentioned. In particular, I show why the conceivability of life-prolonging killings renders Frances M. Kamm's attempt to provide an answer to the second question problematic.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Bennett, J., Shooting, Killing and Dying, Canadian Journal of Philosophy 2 (1973), pp. 315–323.
Bennett, J., Event Causation: The Counterfactual Analysis, in J. E. Tomberlin (ed.), Philosophical Perspectives, 1, Metaphysics. Atascadero, Cal.: Ridgeview Publishing Co., 1987, reprinted in E. Sosa and M. Tooley (eds.), Causation. Oxford: Oxford University Press 1993, pp. 217–233.
Bennett, J., Events and Their Names. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1988.
Bennett, J., The Act Itself. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1995.
Foot, P., The Problem of Abortion and the Doctrine of the Double Effect, in P. Foot (ed.), Virtues and Vices. Berkeley: University of California Press, 1977, pp. 19–32.
Goldman, A. I., A Theory of Human Action. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton University Press, 1970.
Goldman, A. I., The Individuation of Action, The Journal of Philosophy 68 (1971), pp.761–774.
Hanser, M., Why Are Killing and Letting Die Wrong?, Philosophy & Public Affairs 24 (1995), pp. 175–201.
Kamm, F. M., Morality, Mortality. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1996, volume 2.
Kamm, F. M., Killing and Letting Die: Methodological and Substantive Issues, Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 64 (1983), pp. 297–312.
Lippert-Rasmussen, K., Are Killing and Letting Die Morally Equivalent?, Danish Yearbook of Philosophy (forthcoming).
Mackie, J. L., The Cement of the Universe. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1974.
Malm, H., Killing, Letting Die, and Simple Conflicts, Philosophy & Public Affairs 18 (1989), pp. 238–258.
McMahan, J., Killing, Letting Die, Withdrawing Aid, Ethics 103 (1993), pp. 250–279.
McMahan, J., Killing and Equality, Utilitas 7 (1995), pp. 1–29.
Quinn, W., Actions, Intentions, and Consequences: The Doctrine of Doing and Allowing, in W. Quinn (ed.), Morality and Action. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1993, pp. 149–174.
Sanford, D. H., If P, then Qs. London: Routledge, 1989.
Singer, P., Practical Ethics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1979.
Tooley, M., Abortion and Infanticide, Philosophy & Public Affairs 2 (1972), pp. 37–65; reprinted in P. Singer (ed.), Applied Ethics. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1986, pp. 57-85.
Thomson, J. J., The Time of a Killing, The Journal of Philosophy 68 (1971), pp. 115–132.
Trammell, R., Saving Life and Taking Life, The Journal of Philosophy 72 (1975), pp. 131–137; reprinted in B. Steinbock, Killing and Letting Die. New York: Fordham University Press, 1994, pp. 290-297.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Lippert-Rasmussen, K. Life-Prolonging Killings and their Relevance to Ethics. Ethical Theory and Moral Practice 2, 135–147 (1999). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009991600029
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1009991600029