Philosopher's Zone 'Being a burden' and assisted dying
Apr 1, 2026
Liesl van Seil, a philosophy lecturer in virtue ethics from the University of Waikato, explores assisted dying through the lens of flourishing and moral character. She contrasts virtue ethics with autonomy and utilitarian approaches. Short takes cover caregivers' real burdens, physicians' roles and conscience, when assisted dying might be virtuous, and slippery-slope risks in practice.
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Captain Oates Example Of Self Sacrifice
- Captain Lawrence Oates sacrificed himself to relieve his companions of both physical and moral burdens during an Antarctic retreat.
- Liesl van Seil uses this historical example to contrast self-initiated sacrifice with modern assisted dying requests that involve third parties.
Virtue Ethics Reframes Assisted Dying
- Virtue ethics focuses on what it means to treat a patient well, centering virtues like compassion and courage rather than solely rights or utility.
- Liesl van Seil argues virtue ethics asks what a good life and a good death look like for human flourishing, not just what maximizes aggregate welfare.
Autonomy Alone Undermines Medicine's Purpose
- A pure autonomy/right-to-self-determination model treats medicine as mere service provision and can obscure medicine's role in promoting flourishing.
- Van Seil warns assisted dying differs from non-interference rights because it asks physicians to actively end life, not just refrain from acting.