Is Killing Worse Than Letting Die Analysis

Is killing worse than letting die or is letting die worse than killing? That is the question that has been posed in the last module of this course. The natural view is that killing is worse than letting die. Phillipa Foot and Judith Thomson both give their points of view of the topic. The issue with this topic is that everyone including Foot and Thomson have their own opinions as to which one is worse. We are also presented with positive and negative duties which can help influence what we think when it comes to killing versus letting die. We can have the positive duty of not letting someone die and we can have the negative duty of not killing. Negative duties are more stringent than positive duties. I personally feel that killing is worse …show more content…
This shows us that Thomson is more focused on the act itself. Which makes me think that Thomson wants us to have a reason or justification as to why we should kill or let die. Thomson wants that person to have a claim as to why they are for or against something. Debating the issue of killing versus letting die is interesting to me because I feel that it really depends on the situation. I agree with Judith Thomson’s views because she feels that the person has to have a reason behind their actions. I honestly feel that letting die can be just as bad as killing and killing can be just as bad as letting die it just depends on the situation. I have had the decision with a group of peers on euthanasia, assisted suicide, is ethical or not and after having the debate I honestly felt like it would have to be up to that person or that family member. Although I feel this way I think that there would be the issue of someone feeling guilty because they feel responsible for that person’s death. It is just so many factors that can go into this subject, but if I had to pick a side I would say that killing is worse than letting