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Authenticity and physician-assisted suicide: a reply to Ahlzén

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Abstract

In a recent article in this journal, Rolf Ahlzén treats a moral problem related to physician-assisted suicide (PAS) and the notion of authenticity. The problem is whether considerations of a patient’s “true self” should be included in judgments of PAS. In this short commentary, it is argued that Ahlzén (1) neglects to attend to central contributions to the philosophy of authenticity, (2) provides an internally inconsistent theory thereof, and (3) conflates crucial distinctions in the debate.

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The Swedish Institute (09005/2020).

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Correspondence to Jesper Ahlin Marceta.

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Ahlin Marceta, J. Authenticity and physician-assisted suicide: a reply to Ahlzén. Med Health Care and Philos 24, 543–546 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-021-10038-z

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