Dying a dog's death?Converging and diverging ethical discourses in human and veterinary medicine about the end of life care for humans and pets and some consequences for the relations between medical and animal ethics

在研究和治疗方面，人类医学和兽医是紧密相连的。然而，这几乎不适用于关于在人类和兽医中适当使用现有诊断、药物或技术的伦理讨论。这很令人惊讶，因为宠物已经成为所谓的“家庭成员”。此外，人们还推测，患病和濒死动物的经历可能会对人类医学的治疗决定产生影响(反之亦然)。该项目以生命末期的治疗决定为例，研究人类和兽医中道德和伦理问题的关系。首先，这是在描述伦理学的层面上进行的审查：处理垂死宠物的经验如何有助于人类的治疗决定？在治疗濒临死亡的动物时，人类医学的道德前提在多大程度上再次出现？其次，这是在规范伦理学的层面上考察的：动物医学和人类医学中的伦理话语以相同的方式涉及哪些原则、商品和价值？可能会有什么不同？它是基本的还是细节的？尊严或人性等概念在多大程度上被用来比喻、类比、单一发音等？第三，这是在元伦理学的层面上考察的：医学伦理学和动物伦理学的学科是如何联系在一起的？它们是同一生物伦理学的两个分支吗？这两个领域在很大程度上是独立的应用伦理学吗？这对于理解医学或临床、动物和环境伦理意味着什么？动物伦理学和医学伦理学的概念和内容的描绘和相互交织示范了生命终结的决定。确定了道德、规范伦理学和元伦理学的趋同、发散或时移发展。这些调查将有助于理解在道德、临床伦理咨询、道德哲学等领域的不同评价。

In research and therapy, human and veterinary medicine are closely interlinked. However, this hardly applies to the ethical discussions about the appropriate use of the available diagnostics, medicines or techniques in human and veterinary medicine. This is surprising, since pets have become so-called "members of the family”. It is furthermore presumed that experiences with sick and dying animals may have an influence on treatment decisions in human medicine (and vice versa).The project investigates the relation of moral and ethical issues in human and veterinary medicine using the example of treatment decisions at the end of life. Firstly, this is examined at the level of descriptive ethics: How does experience in handling moribund pets contribute to therapy decisions for humans? To what extent do moral premises of human medicine turn up again in the treatment of dying animals? Secondly, this is examined at the level of normative ethics: To which principles, goods and values do ethical discourses in animal and human medicine refer in the same way? What may be the difference? Is it fundamental or in detail? To what extent are concepts such as dignity or humanity used metaphorically, analogically, univocally, etc.? Thirdly, this is examined at the level of metaethics: How are the disciplines of medical ethics and animal ethics related? Are they two branches of one single bioethics? Are they two largely independent domains of applied ethics? What does this mean for the understanding of medical or clinical, animal and environmental ethics? The delineation and intermeshing of concepts and contents in animal and medical ethics are exemplarily demonstrated for the end-of-life decisions. Convergent, divergent or time-shifted developments in morality, normative ethics and metaethics are identified. The investigations will contribute to the understanding of different appraisals in the field of morality, clinical ethics counseling, moral philosophy, etc.