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Homicide in the Context of Killing (USP) (Quelltext anzeigen)
Version vom 22. April 2018, 15:52 Uhr
, 15:52, 22. Apr. 2018→The Act of Killing
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== | == Forms of Killing == | ||
To kill is to terminate the existence of a living organism. To put an end to a life. Living beings are plants and animals including the human animal. The killing of plants - the flora - is of concern for biologists and environmentalists to the degree that the reduction of biodiversity is endangering human life on this planet. The killing of animals by other animals has never been a matter of great concern, but the killing of animals by humans - the dominant source of protein supply since the beginning of our species' existence - has been receiving some attention recently, and this for a number of reasons. One of them is the fact that many animal species are at risk of becoming extinct. Another one is the development of an increased understanding of the animals' suffering under conditions of industrialized animal farming and slaughtering. Finally, the killing of humans by humans has always been a matter of concern for us humans. It has always been there, and it has always been a topic, a concern, a problem. | To kill is to terminate the existence of a living organism. To put an end to a life. Living beings are plants and animals including the human animal. The killing of plants - the flora - is of concern for biologists and environmentalists to the degree that the reduction of biodiversity is endangering human life on this planet. The killing of animals by other animals has never been a matter of great concern, but the killing of animals by humans - the dominant source of protein supply since the beginning of our species' existence - has been receiving some attention recently, and this for a number of reasons. One of them is the fact that many animal species are at risk of becoming extinct. Another one is the development of an increased understanding of the animals' suffering under conditions of industrialized animal farming and slaughtering. Finally, the killing of humans by humans has always been a matter of concern for us humans. It has always been there, and it has always been a topic, a concern, a problem. | ||
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*Then there is the killing of people who wish to end their own life - because of old age, pain, and illness - by doctors at the request of their patients. The altruistic act of killing (active '''euthanasia''') is at least as controversial as abortion, and worldwide statistics or even estimates are nonexistent. | *Then there is the killing of people who wish to end their own life - because of old age, pain, and illness - by doctors at the request of their patients. The altruistic act of killing (active '''euthanasia''') is at least as controversial as abortion, and worldwide statistics or even estimates are nonexistent. | ||
*Similarly controversial is the act of taking one's own life. Suicide in all its forms (Émile Durkheim: egoistic because of loneliness, altruistic for furthering a cause, anomic because of a great loss or ritualistic because of collapse under extreme social expectations) is today more frequent than homicide, and according to statistics even more frequent than homicide and killing in the context of armed conflicts combined. | *Similarly controversial is the act of taking one's own life. Suicide in all its forms (Émile Durkheim: egoistic because of loneliness, altruistic for furthering a cause, anomic because of a great loss or ritualistic because of collapse under extreme social expectations) is today more frequent than homicide, and according to statistics even more frequent than homicide and killing in the context of armed conflicts combined. | ||
*Then there is the killing of enemies in times of war. This kind of killing sticks out in its positive moral evaluation. It, too, is controversial, but its dominant moral and above all juridical evaluation is positive in the sense that it is seen as the obligation of a citizen to follow the state's call to arms, and those who refuse to do so are subject to punishment. Notwithstanding the fact that internal and international armed conflicts have cost the lives of a billion people over the course of history, the dissident voices that want to stigmatize and prohibit wars have not become effective (yet). | *Then there is the killing of enemies in times of civil war or international war. This kind of killing sticks out in its positive moral evaluation. It, too, is controversial, but its dominant moral and above all juridical evaluation is positive in the sense that it is seen as the obligation of a citizen to follow the state's call to arms, and those who refuse to do so are subject to punishment. Notwithstanding the fact that internal and international armed conflicts have cost the lives of a billion people over the course of history, the dissident voices that want to stigmatize and prohibit wars have not become effective (yet). | ||
*Genocide is a form of mass killing in which the effort to stigmatize and prohibit has become effective following World War II - but unfortunately not to the extent of effectively preventing genocidal killings from happening ever after (Rwanda, Rohingya) | |||
*Killing in self-defense by private individuals, by police, by sub-state actors and by state actors is another modality of killing - and a popular excuse for aggression and over-reaction because it is one of the few possibilities of avoiding social shame and punishment for the act of killing. | *Killing in self-defense by private individuals, by police, by sub-state actors and by state actors is another modality of killing - and a popular excuse for aggression and over-reaction because it is one of the few possibilities of avoiding social shame and punishment for the act of killing. | ||
*Then there is the killing of humans by humans in the context of legal punishment. The death penalty is similarly controversial to abortion, euthanasia, and suicide, and while some countries and ethics and religions see capital punishment as god-given, necessary, useful or at least unproblematic, others strive to abolish it not only in their own jurisdictions, but worldwide. At present, two thirds of all of the world's countries have abolished it de facto or de jure - but since those countries are the smaller ones, and since all the big countries still have it (China, India, Japan, USA), two thirds of the world's population live in countries that still have and still use hanging, shooting, decapitating, or lethal injections. | *Then there is the killing of humans by humans in the context of legal punishment. The death penalty is similarly controversial to abortion, euthanasia, and suicide, and while some countries and ethics and religions see capital punishment as god-given, necessary, useful or at least unproblematic, others strive to abolish it not only in their own jurisdictions, but worldwide. At present, two thirds of all of the world's countries have abolished it de facto or de jure - but since those countries are the smaller ones, and since all the big countries still have it (China, India, Japan, USA), two thirds of the world's population live in countries that still have and still use hanging, shooting, decapitating, or lethal injections. | ||
*Finally, there is the intentional killing of another human being at the sole (juridical) responsibility of the person who takes the other one's life. This homicide stricto sensu will be at the center of today's attention. | *Finally, there is the intentional killing of another human being at the sole (juridical) responsibility of the person who takes the other one's life. This homicide stricto sensu will be at the center of today's attention. | ||
== The Act of Killing == | |||
*Hot and cold killings | |||
== The Frequency of Homicide == | == The Frequency of Homicide == | ||