Faith and reason and physician-assisted suicide

Area of Science:

• Bioethics
• Philosophy of Religion
• Medical Ethics

Background:

• The debate on physician-assisted suicide (PAS) involves complex theological and philosophical arguments.
• David Thomasma and H. Tristram Engelhardt have contributed significantly to this discourse.
• Thomasma's arguments for PAS draw on theological interpretations, while Engelhardt contrasts Christian and secular viewpoints.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the debate on physician-assisted suicide using Thomas Aquinas's framework on the relationship between faith and reason.
• To critically evaluate the theological and philosophical underpinnings of arguments presented by Thomasma and Engelhardt.
• To explore how Aquinas's epistemology might necessitate a re-evaluation of existing approaches to PAS.

Main Methods:

• Philosophical analysis of Aquinas's concepts of faith, reason, and theology.
• Critical examination of Thomasma's theological arguments for PAS, particularly those referencing Christ and martyrs.
• Assessment of Thomasma's assumptions regarding the nature of death as a potential good.
• Reconsideration of Engelhardt's dichotomy between Christian and secular perspectives on PAS in light of Thomistic thought.

Main Results:

• Aquinas's theology, based on revelation, challenges Thomasma's theological justification for PAS.
• Aquinas's emphasis on unaided reason questions Thomasma's view of death as a good.
• Aquinas's integration of faith and reason suggests Engelhardt's strict separation of Christian and secular approaches to PAS requires revision.
• Despite the need for reconsideration, Engelhardt's conclusions on PAS may still find support within a Thomistic framework.

Conclusions:

• A Thomistic understanding of faith and reason complicates and potentially refutes specific arguments for physician-assisted suicide.
• The dichotomy between religious and secular viewpoints on PAS, as presented by Engelhardt, is less absolute when viewed through Aquinas's synthesis.
• Further philosophical and theological inquiry into Aquinas's philosophy is warranted to fully address the ethical complexities of physician-assisted suicide.