The mentality of dieability/killability: Reflections on the special issue on law, medicine, and bioethics.

Abstract

This commentary discusses the Special Issue on Law, Medicine, and Bioethics: Role of Interdisciplinary Leadership in Influencing Health and Public Health Policy and Democratic Systems of Governance from the perspective of the concept of killability/dieability. Killability refers to the idea that the other can be killed as an active doing, whereas dieability means that certain people can be left to die, although their death could be prevented. Killability and dieability overlap and can be observed as mentalities not only in authoritarian regimes but also in existing liberal democracies. The four articles are analyzed within the framework of killability/dieability, and it is suggested that the special issue is paradigmatic for how philosophical-psychological studies should expand their traditional boundaries by incorporating reflections from a variety of academic disciplines and practices. Public Significance Statement This comment asks the public to consider the degree to which "we" have accepted dieability and killability of people in our societies. It is suggested that the public and professionals should look at human existential crises such as the COVID-19 pandemic, mental health, migration, increasing inequality, wars, and climate change through this concept pair.