Euthanasia, Ethics and Tradition: The 21st Century African Dilemma

Writing on philosophical issues that directly affect human life is difficult, but possible. As such, this is a book on euthanasia. While acknowledging the contribution of African tradition and western scholars to the development of medical ethics as a discipline in both western and African universities and harboring no wishes to turn back the clock of this development to the past, the book critically focuses on the failures of African tradition and the western scholars to settle some medicine related issues like euthanasia. In Africa, the failure has resulted in what we shall call “the 21st century African dilemma of euthanasia”. The book is intended for philosophers, sociologists, social anthropologists, medical professionals and anyone else interested in the subject of euthanasia. The book's thrust centers on “the twenty first century African dilemma of euthanasia” and how it can be dealt with. Thus, the virtue of this book is its significant shift from the traditional positions on euthanasia to a more pragmatic and rationalized view– a moderate view of euthanasia and its negotiated justice - that could serve as a panacea to the 21st century African dilemma of euthanasia.