Confucian ethic of death with dignity and its contemporary relevance.
This paper advances three claims. First, according to contemporary Western advocates of physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia, "death with dignity" is understood negatively as bringing about death to avoid or prevent indignity, that is, to avoid a degrading existence. Second, there is a similar morally affirmative view on death with dignity in ancient China, in classical Confucianism in particular. Third, there is a consonance as well as dissonance between these two ethics of death with dignity, such as that the Confucian perspective would regard the argument for physician-assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia as less than compelling because of the latter's impoverished vision of human life.
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D002681:China; D032903:Confucianism; D003431:Cross-Cultural Comparison; D005065:Euthanasia; D033101:Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary; D049690:History, Ancient; D006801:Humans; D038622:Internationality; D009014:Morals; D012297:Right to Die; D012945:Social Values; D013405:Suicide / Q000266:history; D017236:Suicide, Assisted; D014481:United States; D019366:Western World