Waubonsee Community College

Life and death decisions, the quest for morality and justice in human societies, Sheldon Ekland-Olson

eng

Includes bibliographical references and index

index present

non fiction

Life and death decisions

bibliography

886381544

Sheldon Ekland-Olson

Contemporary sociological perspectives

the quest for morality and justice in human societies

"This second edition of Life and Death Decisions has been updated to consider the rising stakes for issues of life and death. Abortion, assisted dying, and capital punishment are among the most contentious issues in many societies and demand debate. Whose rights are protected? How do these rights and protections change over time and who makes those decisions? Based on the author's award-winning and hugely popular undergraduate course at the University of Texas, this book explores the fundamentally sociological processes which underlie the quest for morality and justice in human societies. The Author's goal is not to advocate any particular moral "high ground" but to shed light on the social movements and social processes which are at the root of these seemingly personal moral questions and to develop readers to develop their own opinions. Under 200 printed pages, this slim paperback can be easily assigned in a variety of undergraduate courses that touch on the social bases underlying these contested and contentious issues"--, Provided by publisher

ch.1 A moral system evolves -- A single question -- An exclusionary movement is born -- A base of operation -- Framing the agenda -- Branching out -- The criteria for exclusion -- A moral entrepreneur -- The legal framework clarifies -- A landmark case is contrived -- The floodgates open -- Public health measures go terribly wrong -- An awakening -- Crystallizing events and cultural lag -- Social worth and rationed health care -- Stories told, doctrines explored, conferences held -- Deference to doctors -- Four crystallizing events -- The search for common principles -- The Belmont Report and the Georgetown Principles -- ch. 2. The early moments and months of life : should the baby live? -- From comstockery to the right to privacy -- Potential for life, potential for suffering -- Interest groups compete -- A bolt from the blue -- Landmark cases take shape -- A clash of absolutes? -- The power of empathy -- Protests and rescue missions -- Violence increases -- Taking lives to save lives -- The army of God -- Partial-birth abortion -- Protecting health as well as life -- A strange and strained argument -- The political landscape shifts -- Legal details -- Adapting to a strange and strained decision -- Lives worth living, protecting, and supporting -- Regulations emerge -- Nagging uncertainties - who should decide? -- When doctors say no -- Dealing with futility and uncertainty -- ch. 3. The boundaries of tolerable suffering -- Troubling cases in troubled times -- The stages of suffering -- Please let me die -- When life becomes vegetative -- Prolonged death and the public good -- The right-to-die movement gains momentum -- Public opinion and legislative action -- Alleviating suffering and protecting life: who decides? -- The Supreme Court weighs in -- The gift of death -- Uncertainty, a duty to die, and rationed health care -- Lives less worthy of living? -- Uncertainty -- A suicide machine and a cookbook of death -- A calmer voice -- A foothold is secured -- Unanimous ambivalence -- Voters decide (again) and are challenged (again) -- ch.4 Taking life : lynching and capital punishment -- Lynching and the margins of life -- Crystallizing events on the road to reform -- Evolving protections for those on the margins -- Another crystallizing event -- Stark inhumanity further energizes a movement -- A sense of injustice and questioned legitimacy -- A campaign is launched -- Efforts intensify -- The core question for a last-ditch effort -- Arbitrary and capricious procedures -- Procedures for taking life are clarified -- The pendulum swings -- Science, technology, and innocence -- A messy and meaningless system -- A watershed moratorium -- Mental retardation and age -- Uncertain boundaries, innocent lives, scarce drugs, and botched executions -- Epilogue: Six lessons learned -- Lesson one: The power of assessed social worth -- Lesson two: Change comes along a jagged and contentious path -- Lesson three: The importance of analogies, metaphors, images, and stories -- Lesson four: Who decides? -- Lesson five: Dilemmas lead to cyclical change -- Lesson six: Tension remains