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In this book, Christian Erk examines the ethical (im)permissibility of killing human beings in general and of selected killings in particular, namely suicide, lethal selfdefence, abortion and euthanasia, as well as organ transplantation and assisted suicide. He does so by addressing a range of important ethical questions: What does it mean to act? Of what elements is an action comprised? What is the difference between a good or evil action and a permissible or impermissible action? How can we determine whether an action is good or evil? Is there a moral duty not to kill? Is this duty held by and against all human beings or only persons? What and who is a person? What is human dignity and who has it? What is it that is actually taken when somebody is killed, i.e. what is life? And closely related to that: What and when is death? By integrating the answers to these questions into an argumentative architecture, the book offers a comprehensive exploration of one of the most fundamental questions of mankind: Under which conditions, if any, is killing human beings ethically permissible?
List of contents
Chapter 1: Setting the Stage.- Chapter 2: Conceptualising Killing Actions.- Chapter 3: The General Ethics of Human Actions.- Chapter 4: Interlude I: Life & Death.- Chapter 5: Interlude II: Personhood and Moral Status of Human Beings.- Chapter 6: The General Ethics of Killing Human Beings.- Chapter 7: The Special Ethics of Killing Human Beings.- Chapter 8: Conclusion.
Report
"The Ethics of Killing is a thoughtful, technical, and compelling argument from first principles that human life is inviolable ... . Erk has sent into the arena of academic ethics a champion any brave contender will relish taking on. I do not think a better book on ethics has been written this century ... its quality secures its place on reading lists of philosophy and ethics courses for many years to come." (Toni Saad, The New Bioethics, October 25, 2023)
