Human Thriving and the Law

96 Pages·2018·1.13 MB·English

by  Charles Foster, Jonathan Herring

SPRINGER BRIEFS IN LAW
Charles Foster
Jonathan Herring
Human Thriving
and the Law
SpringerBriefs in Law
More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/10164
Charles Foster Jonathan Herring
(cid:129)
Human Thriving and the Law
123
CharlesFoster JonathanHerring
Green TempletonCollege Exeter College
University of Oxford University of Oxford
Oxford,UK Oxford,UK
ISSN 2192-855X ISSN 2192-8568 (electronic)
SpringerBriefs inLaw
ISBN978-3-030-01134-5 ISBN978-3-030-01135-2 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01135-2
LibraryofCongressControlNumber:2018955920
©TheAuthor(s),underexclusivelicensetoSpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2018
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom
therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authorsortheeditorsgiveawarranty,expressorimplied,withrespecttothematerialcontainedhereinor
for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to
jurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland
CF: To the memory of Micky Weingarten,
a wise, kind, and iconoclastic friend.
JH: To the memory of Earline Johnson,
my loving mother in law
Preface
TheideaoftheGoodLife—ofwhatconstituteshumanthriving—is,implicitly,the
foundationandjustificationofthelaw.Thelawexiststoholdsocietiestogether;to
holdintensiontherightsofindividualsasagainstindividuals,therightsofindividuals
asagainstvarioustypesofnon-humanssuchascorporations(andviceversa),andthe
rightsofindividualsasagainstthestate(andviceversa).Indemocraticstates,laws
inhibitsomefreedomsinthenameofgreater,ormoredesirablefreedoms.Theonly
justificationforlawissurelythatittendstopromotehumanthriving.
ButwhatistheGoodLife?Whatdoesitmeantoliveathrivinglife?Therehas
been no want of discussion, at least since the great Athenians. But surprisingly,
sincehumanthrivingisitssoleraisond’être,thelawhasbeenslowtocontributeto
the conversation, or even put snippets of the conversation in its footnotes.
The opinions of the philosophers are now supplemented by a good deal of
evidenceaboutwhatmakeshumanshappy.‘Happiness’maynotbethewholestory
ofhumanthriving,butitispartofit,andsomescientificinvestigationsofhappiness
cast significant light on the ingredients of eudaemonia.
Thisnewevidence,likethephilosophicaldiscourse,hasnotyetfilteredintothe
law courts. It cannot be kept out for long. Judges regularly determine whether a
particularcourseofactionisinthe‘bestinterests’ofachildoranincapacitousadult.
Those determinations—which are often quite literally life or death decisions—
can and should be informed by all theavailable evidence.
Best interests determinations are something of a scandal. Every single one
of them presumes an account of what it means to thrive. Not one of them sets out
explicitlywhichaccountisbeingused.Itislikeajudgesayingthatsheisgoingto
find for the claimant, but refusing to say under which enactment.
We hope that this book will:
(cid:129) Make lawyers ask: ‘What is the law for?’, and conclude that it is to maximise
human thriving.
(cid:129) Make lawyers ask: ‘But what does human thriving mean?’, and conclude that
they need to be anthropologists and philosophers and biologists and poets in
order to be proper lawyers, and that instead of reading law books, they should
vii
viii Preface
go back to ancient Athens and wander from there to modern neurobiology,
pausing in Jerusalem, Mecca, Constantinople, Florence, Silicon Valley, and
everywhere in between—apart from the Senior Common Rooms of Oxford
colleges.
(cid:129) Makejudgesandadvocatesask:‘Howcanajudgmentaboutthebestinterestsof
a patient be satisfactory unless its basis is made clear?’
Oxford, UK Charles Foster
Jonathan Herring
Contents
1 What Does the Law Say About Human Thriving? ................ 1
1.1 Introduction............................................ 1
1.2 Decisions by Capacitous Adults............................ 2
1.3 Best Interests Determinations on Behalf
of Incapacitous Patients .................................. 7
1.4 Decision-Making on Behalf of Very Sick Children............. 16
1.4.1 Thriving Is not Just a Medical Issue .................. 17
1.4.2 Thriving: A Personalised Assessment ................. 18
1.5 The Presumption in Favour of Continued Life ................ 18
1.5.1 The Relationship Between the Parents and Child ........ 20
1.6 Summary in Relation to Decision-Making on Behalf
of Children ............................................ 22
References .................................................. 22
2 The Idea of Human Thriving: A Brief History ................... 23
2.1 Introduction............................................ 23
2.2 Ideas of the Good Life in the Ancient Greek
and Roman Worlds...................................... 25
2.3 Ideas of the Good Life in the Jewish and Christian Worlds ...... 30
2.4 Ideas of the Good Life in the Renaissance and the
Enlightenment.......................................... 34
2.5 From the Enlightenment to the Present ...................... 39
References .................................................. 42
3 What Makes Humans Happy?................................. 43
3.1 Introduction............................................ 43
3.2 Conscious and Unconscious Minds and the Conversation
Between Them ......................................... 44
3.3 The Relevance of Bodily Integrity and Physical Environment .... 46
3.4 The Significance of Rationality for Human Thriving ........... 47
ix
x Contents
3.5 Sociality and Thriving ................................... 49
3.6 Work and Significance ................................... 50
3.7 Whatever Happiness Is, Can It Be Pursued? .................. 51
3.8 Happiness and Virtue .................................... 51
3.9 Conclusion ............................................ 53
References .................................................. 54
4 Thriving, Care and Vulnerability .............................. 57
4.1 Introduction............................................ 57
4.2 Vulnerability and Thriving ................................ 58
4.3 Mutuality and Vulnerability ............................... 59
4.4 Openness and Vulnerability ............................... 60
4.5 Relationships and Vulnerability ............................ 60
4.6 Personhood and Vulnerability ............................. 61
4.7 Autonomy and Vulnerability .............................. 62
4.8 Vulnerability and Compassion ............................. 64
4.9 Care.................................................. 64
4.10 Conclusion ............................................ 66
References .................................................. 66
5 Making It Work: Ideas of Human Thriving in Practice............ 69
5.1 Introduction............................................ 69
5.2 Scenario 1: Becoming a Wolf ............................. 70
5.2.1 The Law ........................................ 70
5.2.2 Jonathan Herring (JH).............................. 71
5.2.3 Charles Foster (CF)................................ 72
5.3 Scenario 2: Breast Enlargement ............................ 73
5.3.1 The Law ........................................ 73
5.3.2 JH ............................................. 74
5.3.3 CF ............................................. 75
5.4 Scenario 3: Permanent Vegetative State...................... 76
5.4.1 The Law ........................................ 76
5.4.2 JH ............................................. 77
5.4.3 CF ............................................. 77
5.5 Scenario 4: Dementia .................................... 79
5.5.1 The Law ........................................ 79
5.5.2 JH ............................................. 79
5.5.3 CF ............................................. 80
5.6 Scenario 5: Should Sperm Be Extracted? .................... 81
5.6.1 The Law ........................................ 81
5.6.2 JH ............................................. 81
5.6.3 CF ............................................. 82