| Summary: | 碩士 === 佛光人文社會學院 === 未來學研究所 === 93 === The Future of Euthanasia from the Perspective of the Studies of Life and Death
Abstract
Futurology is a multi-disciplinary field of studies. Its area includes all man’s activity and space. All events in the world develop along the time axis of "past, presence and future," and its spatial area. Therefore, time, space, matter and environment are the important elements of future studies. This thesis aims at a topic in social futurology, taking the studies of life and death as its background to discuss the future tendency and development of euthanasia.
All living beings die. As a creature, man cannot escape death. Hence. "death in equality" is the fairest law in the world. As the German philosopher Martin Heidegger says, "Man is being towards-death.” This implies that life and death are equal, and that death can be overcome with spiritual transcendence. Indeed, the overcoming of death is the ultimate goal of the studies of life and death.
Man has the right to life, but does man have the right to death？It is a topic awaiting discussion. People desire to live and hate to die, but he will choose death if he is faced with a fate more terrible than death. Hence, in the face of extreme pain and suffering, the persistent vegetative status, terminal cancers and serious illnesses without hope of recovery, euthanasia seems a solemn choice, a solution that can put an end to pain and suffering.
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Euthanasia is a complex subject. It is also a social problem which involves medicine, religion, law, ethics and psychology. When man pursues the quality of life, should he be also concerned with the quality of death? Should the dignity of life go together with the dignity of death？This thesis studies euthanasia from the perspective of the studies of life and death. Its methodology includes documentary analysis and interviews with religious people and medical experts. It discusses the value and meaning of life on the basis of religious faith, near-death experience, etc., with an aim to shedding light on euthanasia as an alternative to overcoming pain and suffering.
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