Euthanasia and Assisted Suicide are Morally Correct :: Free Euthanasia Essay

Euthanasia is Morally Correct "The third night that I roomed with Jack in our tiny double room, in the solid-tumor ward of the cancer clinic of the National Institute of Health in Maryland, a terrible thought occurred to me. Jack had a melanoma in his belly, a malignant solid tumor that the doctors guessed was the size of a softball. The doctors planned to remove the tumor, but they knew Jack would soon die. The cancer had now spread out of control. Jack, about 28, was in constant pain, and his doctor had prescribed an intravenous shot, a pain killer, and this would control the pain for perhaps two hours or a bit more. Then he would begin to moan, or whimper, very low, as though he didn't want to wake me. Then he would begin to howl, like a dog. When this happened, he would ring for a nurse, and ask for the pain-killer. The third night of his routine, a terrible thought occurred to me. 'If Jack were a dog, I thought, what would be done to him?' The answer was obvious: the pound, and the chloroform. No human being with a spark of pity could let a living thing suffer so, to no good end." (James Rachel's The Morality of Euthanasia) The experience of Stewart Alsop, a respected journalist, who died in 1975 of a rare form of cancer gave an example on the morality of euthanasia. Before he died, he wrote movingly of his experiences with another terminal patient. Although he had not thought much about euthanasia before, he came to approve of it after sharing a room with Jack. While growing up, each of us learns a large number of rules of conduct. Which rules we learn will depend on the kind of society we live in and the parents and the friends we have. We may learn to be honest, to be loyal, and to work hard. Sometimes we learn a rule without understanding its point. In most cases this may work out, for the rule may be designed to cover ordinary circumstances, but when faced with unusual situations, we may be in trouble. This situation is the same with moral rules. Without understanding the rules, we may come

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17 ’Childhood is certainly not the happiest time of your life’ It’s about time somebody exploded that hoary old myth about childhood being the happiest period of your life. Childhood may certainly be fairly happy, but it’s greatest moments can’t compare with the sheer joy of being an adult. Who ever asked a six-year-old for an opinion? Children don’t have opinions, or if they do, nobody notices. Adults choose the clothes their children will wear, the books they will read and the friends they will play with. Mother and father are kindly but absolute dictators.This is an adult world and though children may be deeply loved, they have to be manipulated so as not to interfere too seriously with the lives of their elders and betters. The essential difference between manhood and childhood is the same as the difference between independence and subjection. For all the nostalgic remarks you hear, which adult would honestly change places with a child? T hink of the years at school: the years spent living in constant fear of examinations and school reports. Every movement you make, every thought you think is observed by some critical adult who may draw unflattering conclusions about your character.Think of the curfews, the marital law, the times you had to go to bed early, do as you were told, eat disgusting stuff that was supposed to be good for you. Remember how ‘gentle’ pressure was applied with remarks like ‘if you don’t do as I say, I’ll †¦ ’ and a dire warning would follow. Even so, these are only part of a child’s troubles. No matter how kind and loving adults may be, children often suffer from terrible, illogical fears which are the result of ignorance and an inability to understand the world around them. Nothing can equal the abject fear a child may feel in the dark, the absolute horror of childish nightmares.Adults can share their fears with other adults; children invaria bly face their fears alone. But the most painful part of childhood is the period when you begin to emerge from it: adolescence. Teenagers may rebel violently against parental authority, but this causes them great unhappiness. There is a complete lack of self-confidence during this time. Adolescents are over-conscious of their appearance and the impression they make on others. They feel shy, awkward and clumsy. Feelings are intense and hearts easily broken. Teenagers experience moments of tremendous elation or black despair.And through this turmoil, adults seem to be more hostile than ever. What a relief it is to grow up. Suddenly you regain your balance; the world opens up before you. You are free to choose; you have your own place to live in and your own money to spend. You do not have to seek constant approval for everything you do. You are no longer teased, punished or ridiculed by heartless adults because you failed to come up to some theoretical standard. And if on occasion you are teased, you know how to deal with it. You can simply tell other adults to go to hell: you are one yourself. Nada 17 ’Childhood is certainly not the happiest time of your life’ It’s about time somebody exploded that hoary old myth about childhood being the happiest period of your life. Childhood may certainly be fairly happy, but it’s greatest moments can’t compare with the sheer joy of being an adult. Who ever asked a six-year-old for an opinion? Children don’t have opinions, or if they do, nobody notices. Adults choose the clothes their children will wear, the books they will read and the friends they will play with. Mother and father are kindly but absolute dictators.This is an adult world and though children may be deeply loved, they have to be manipulated so as not to interfere too seriously with the lives of their elders and betters. The essential difference between manhood and childhood is the same as the difference between independence and subjection. For all the nostalgic remarks you hear, which adult would honestly change places with a child? T hink of the years at school: the years spent living in constant fear of examinations and school reports. Every movement you make, every thought you think is observed by some critical adult who may draw unflattering conclusions about your character.Think of the curfews, the marital law, the times you had to go to bed early, do as you were told, eat disgusting stuff that was supposed to be good for you. Remember how ‘gentle’ pressure was applied with remarks like ‘if you don’t do as I say, I’ll †¦ ’ and a dire warning would follow. Even so, these are only part of a child’s troubles. No matter how kind and loving adults may be, children often suffer from terrible, illogical fears which are the result of ignorance and an inability to understand the world around them. Nothing can equal the abject fear a child may feel in the dark, the absolute horror of childish nightmares.Adults can share their fears with other adults; children invaria bly face their fears alone. But the most painful part of childhood is the period when you begin to emerge from it: adolescence. Teenagers may rebel violently against parental authority, but this causes them great unhappiness. There is a complete lack of self-confidence during this time. Adolescents are over-conscious of their appearance and the impression they make on others. They feel shy, awkward and clumsy. Feelings are intense and hearts easily broken. Teenagers experience moments of tremendous elation or black despair.And through this turmoil, adults seem to be more hostile than ever. What a relief it is to grow up. Suddenly you regain your balance; the world opens up before you. You are free to choose; you have your own place to live in and your own money to spend. You do not have to seek constant approval for everything you do. You are no longer teased, punished or ridiculed by heartless adults because you failed to come up to some theoretical standard. And if on occasion you are teased, you know how to deal with it. You can simply tell other adults to go to hell: you are one yourself.

Understanding the Flynn Effect and Why It Happens

You’ve probably heard someone lament the state of â€Å"kids today†: that current generations aren’t as smart as the ones that came before them. However, psychologists who study intelligence have found that there isn’t much support for this idea; instead, the opposite may actually be true. Researchers studying the Flynn effect have found that scores on IQ tests have actually improved over time. Below, we’ll review what the Flynn effect is, some possible explanations for it, and what it tells us about human intelligence. What Is the Flynn effect? The Flynn effect, first described  in the 1980s by researcher James Flynn, refers to the finding that scores on IQ tests have increased in the past century.  Researchers studying this effect have found wide support for this phenomenon. One research paper, published by psychologist Lisa Trahan and her colleagues, combined the results of other published studies (which included a total of over 14,000 participants) and found that IQ scores have indeed increased since the 1950s. Although researchers have documented some exceptions, IQ scores have generally increased over time. Trahan and her colleagues observed, â€Å"The existence of the Flynn effect is rarely disputed.† Why Does the Flynn Effect Happen? Researchers have put forward several theories to explain the Flynn effect. One explanation has to do with improvements in health and nutrition. For example, the past century has seen a decrease in  smoking and alcohol use in pregnancy, discontinuation of the use of harmful lead paint, improvements in the prevention and treatment of  infectious diseases, and improvements in nutrition. As Scott Barry Kaufman writes for Psychology Today, â€Å"The Flynn effect serves as a reminder that when we give people more opportunities to prosper, more people do prosper.† In other words, the Flynn effect could be partially due to the fact that, over the twentieth century, we’ve started addressing many of the public health issues that prevented people in earlier generations from reaching their full potential. Another explanation for the Flynn effect has to do with societal changes that have occurred in the past century as a result of the Industrial Revolution. In a TED talk, Flynn explains that the world today is â€Å"a world where weve had to develop new mental habits, new habits of mind.† Flynn has found that IQ scores have increased the most rapidly on questions that ask us to find similarities between different things, and more abstract types of problem solving — both of which are things that we need to do more of in the modern world. Several ideas have been put forward to explain why modern society might lead to higher scores on IQ tests. For example, today, many more of us have demanding, intellectually rigorous jobs. Schools have also changed: whereas a test at school in the early 1900s might have been more focused on memorization, a recent test might be more likely to focus on explaining the reasons for something. Additionally, more people today are likely to finish high school and go on to college. Family sizes tend to be smaller, and it has been suggested that this may allow children to pick up on new vocabulary words while interacting with their parents. It’s even been suggested that the entertainment we consume is more complex today. Trying to understand and anticipate plot points in a favorite book or TV drama may actually be making us smarter. What Can We Learn From Studying the Flynn Effect? The Flynn effect tells us that the human mind is much more adaptable and malleable than we might have thought. It seems that some of our thinking patterns aren’t necessarily innate, but rather things that we learn from our environment.  When exposed to modern industrial society, we think about the world in different ways than our ancestors did. When discussing the Flynn effect in The New Yorker, Malcolm Gladwell writes, â€Å"If whatever the thing is that I.Q. tests measure can jump so much in a generation, it can’t be all that immutable and it doesn’t look all that innate.† In other words, the Flynn effect tells us that IQ may not actually be what we think it is: instead of being a measure of natural, unlearned  intelligence, it’s something that can be shaped by the education we receive and the society we live in. References: Flynn, J. (2013, March). Why our IQ levels are higher than our grandparents’. TED. https://www.ted.com/talks/james_flynn_why_our_iq_levels_are_higher_than_our_grandparentsGambino, M. (2012, December 3). Are you smarter than your grandfather? Probably not. Smithsonian. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/are-you-smarter-than-your-grandfather-probably-not-150402883/Gladwell, M. (2007, December 17). None of the above. The New Yorker. https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/12/17/none-of-the-aboveKaufman, S.B. (2010, August 23). The Flynn effect and IQ disparities among races, ethnicities, and nations: Are there common links? Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/beautiful-minds/201008/the-flynn-effect-and-iq-disparities-among-races-ethnicities-and-nationsLehrer, J. (2011, August 2). Are smart people getting smarter? Wired. https://www.wired.com/2011/08/are-smart-people-getting-smarter/Trahan, L. H., Stuebing, K. K., Fletcher, J. M., Hiscock, M. (2014). The Flynn effect: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 140(5), 1332-1360. doi:10.1037/a0037173. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4152423/Winerman, L. (2013, March). Smarter than ever? Monitor on Psychology, 44(3), 30. http://www.apa.org/monitor/2013/03/smarter.aspx