On 1 Jul., 17:28, Alan Wostenberg <[email protected]> wrote:
So this debate takes place against a
> universal background of agreement: don't murder.
>
Ah but, Alan, "murder" itself is a complex term which needs to be
defined. And not all definitions are the same. Even if we take a
fairly, old, generally accepted legal definition - "when a person, of
sound memory and discretion, unlawfully killeth any reasonable
creature in being and under the king's peace, with malice
aforethought, either express or implied." (Blackstone, Commentary on
the Laws of England [1765-69]) - questions arise. Particularly with
regard to the qualification "unlawfully". What if the law is unjust,
allowing for all sorts of legal killing, what we might term "judicial
murder"? Whatever one's view of abortion may be, for example, the fact
that it is legally allowed in a society automatically means, according
to Blackstone's definition, that it cannot be defined as murder.
Let us take the example of the position taken by many in the USA who
campaign against abortion, on the grounds that it is murder, while at
the same time condoning capital punishment. Both are legally
permissible. So in this case, in order to define murder, one must move
beyond legal definitions. But here it becomes difficult. Can one say
that all killing is wrong? Or does one define a particular subset of
killing? If not the legal ones, than what criterea does one use?
I realise that your scholastically grounded position defines moral
precepts on the basis of derivation from general principles. But there
are many of us who do not share your philosphical position. (Apart
from the question as to the stage at which a fertilised embryo can be
considered to be a human being - and no, I don't want to discuss that
here at the moment ... Chris would just accuse me of throwing hand-
grenades!)
Francis
--~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~
You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups
""Minds Eye"" group.
To post to this group, send email to [email protected]
To unsubscribe from this group, send email to
[email protected]
For more options, visit this group at
http://groups.google.com/group/Minds-Eye?hl=en
-~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
