Chapter
What Makes Intentional Killing Unjustified? (IN: Intending Death: the Ethics of Assisted Suicide and Euthanasia, edited by T L Beauchamp)
Macklin R
This chapter analyzes the claim that morally unjustified acts of killing (such as euthanasia) have at some time been declared justified in various societies or groups. The author evaluates several examples where intentional killing has been condoned at specific times by specific societies on the basis of cultural ethical relativism. These examples include the Salem lynchings (on suspicion of witchcraft), America’s subscription to capital punishment & the Nazi euthanasia program in the 1940s. A differentiation is made between bias-related actions & justified actions. (24 refs) (SC)