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Ethics

Is there really a fundamental moral difference between "killing" and "letting someone die"?
Accepted:
April 5, 2010

Comments

Oliver Leaman
April 9, 2010 (changed April 9, 2010) Permalink

Yes, there is. As I sit here typing this someone at my house might be requiring my help, and they do not receive it so they suffer. But that is typically hardly my fault, and I am not to blame. If though I knew that they would require my help and chose to abandon them, then it would be a different matter. The distinction is important since if we are responsible for all harm we could prevent, the scope of our responsibility is immense.

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