Ethical responsibilities of man toward animal world. The vision of Robert Spaemann

The article presents the concept of moral obligations that man has towards animals proposed by Robert Spaemann. Spaemann give reasons for perceiving animal as an object of the law. His analyses present possibilities of solving basic moral questions like for example experiments on animals, animal husbandry, animal slaughter, hunting, interfering into animal's nature and our responsibility for them. Spaemann presents very original arguments for taking care of and responsibility for animals, deriving it from human dignity.

Robert Spaemann’s Ontology of the Person as a Contribution to Overcoming an Anthropological Crisis

Robert Spaemann (1927–2018) is one of the best-known German philosophers of the present. One of his most important books: Persons contains an ontology of the person that offers a synthesis of metaphysics, anthropology and ethics. The purpose of the article is to present the most important elements of this ontology and to reveal their possible relevance for current ethical problems. Spaemann‘s main achievement is a successful diagnosis of the crisis of the person in the present with the indication of the possibilities of overcoming it through an integral view of the human being.

Problem eutanazji w ujęciu Roberta Spaemanna

The problem of euthanasia as seen by Robert SpaemannThe main aim of the article is to present some aspects of euthanasia in the perspective of Robert Spaemann—one of the most significant contemporary German thinkers. First of all, the paradox of the right to euthanasia derived from one’s own decision is pointed out. It is illustrated by the practice of legalising these acts in the Netherlands, Belgium and Luxembourg. On the one hand, such acts are to be motivated by our personal right to self-determination, but on the other, relevant decisions are taken by a doctor. Ultimately, the law protects the doctor, not the patient. Next, the nature of two main types of euthanasia is discussed and defined: active euthanasia and passive euthanasia. Also, an attempt is made to show the inevitable consequences of the right to kill oneself by answering the question whether the right to euthanasia breeds a sense of duty. Finally, a polemic between Robert Spaemann and Peter Singer is presented, which gives us an opportunity to see the three fundamental differences between these philosophers in their views on the problem of the so-called good death.The author of the article emphasizes that the patient’s living will, introduced in Germany in 2009 Patientenverfugung, may indirectly imply consent to passive euthanasia, which is omitted in specialist literature. He then indicates the specificity of the philosophical argumentation of the eminent thinker against euthanasia. He also highlights two aspects of Spaemann’s discussion with Singer: one concerns the downward spiral argument which undermines the legitimacy of euthanasia legalisation, and the other distinguishes two ways of abandoning the treatment if a person faces death.

«Reconocido, pero no guardado». Un escrito de Thomas Buchheim sobre el problema de Dios en Robert Spaemann

El objetivo principal de este trabajo es dar a conocer en lengua castellana un texto del profesor Thomas Buchheim acerca de la «última prueba» de la existencia de Dios a partir del futurum exactum de su maestro, Robert Spaemann. Para ello se analiza en primer lugar el argumento del futurum exactum del «haber-sido». Seguidamente se exponen las objeciones contra el argumento presentado de esta forma. A continuación, la presentación del argumento a partir del futurum exactum de la verdad. Finalmente se plantean los rasgos personales de la capacidad de verdad que dan pie a considerar la necesidad de una conciencia personal para poder hablar de verdad en sentido propio.

The Philosopher Robert Spaemann and His Public Positions

The article is written with the death of German philosopher Robert Spaemann in mind and is a kind of philosophical obituary summing up some of the results of the philosopher’s life relating to his position as a citizen. In Germany, his philosophy was attributed to the so-called Ritter School, although his views were strongly influenced by H.-G. Gadamer, whom he followed while working at the University of Heidelberg. Many of his works were created at the intersection of ethics and political philosophy. Here, one of his favorite themes was human dignity, which was primarily related to the fact that man belongs to the human race and this determines the basic values of existence. Hence, his attitude towards the value of life itself and his negative attitude towards suicide as a conscious withdrawal from life or euthanasia are found. In recent years, before his death, he had been engaged in philosophical analysis and the criticism of the new system of European values which was detached from the peculiarities of national, primarily religious, values. In this regard, he criticized political power for not relying on moral principles.