Menschenleben - Lebenszeit. Impulse fur eine Ethik der Hoffnung: Gerhard Hover zum 60. Geburtstag in Bloomington, MN

Human life is vulnerable, especially during the phases of its beginning and its end. During a problematic pregnancy, the process of dying or grieving, or when acting with regard to dead people, an adequate attitude is demanded besides obeying normative rules. A person endowed with an ethical attitude knows how to link the duty of support with respect of the other's autonomy and dignity. It is the ethical attitude that gives life to normatively right acting, especially with regard to individuals in vulnerable situations. Nevertheless, also having the right ethical attitude needs to be justified and is not a question of luck. Therefore, moral judgement and acting with responsibility means having to consider that human life is finite, that it has its time, and that it is socially related. German text.