When I think about how Descartes would think of this, I think of a couple of the key words that Robin provided, universal reason which is manifested from common sense. To me this seems the opposite of common sense. When thinking about common sense (my view of common sense) and this situation.. it doesn't seem right that people should be given a spot where they can use an illegal drug and not get in trouble for it. If that is okay.. in my eyes the drug is no longer considered illegal ? Why should one person be able to use it and not get in trouble but others will get in big trouble if caught while taking the drug. But when I think more about it, there are others out there that think differently. The news article includes comments from those that are in charge of this project and they have a very different view on it. They provide data to prove that these sites are causing less deaths due to overdoses. Which makes sense, they are getting help so they don't die, but to me there is a better ways to go about helping those in need without providing them a place to continue there addiction.
The next I think about is the science behind this decision. The article includes information on other sites like these that exist throughout the world and the positives of them. So thinking more about the idea of these sites and my thoughts of common sense around this issue, it makes me wonder what others think about it and how they would consider it.. is it as crazy of an idea that I think it is.
Site: http://fox59.com/2018/02/08/san-francisco-to-open-nations-first-heroin-injection-sites/
How interesting... On one side, this drug is illegal. So why are we helping to give an illegal drug out? On the other side, if people are going to be doing it anyway, why not help them to be safe? In my opinion, people are going to find a way to use these illegal drugs no matter what laws are in place or what regulations we try to use in order to minimize uses of illegal intravenous drugs. In order to minimize the adverse effects of these drugs, these people should have a safe place to use drugs such as Heroin. I do not enjoy the idea of encouraging illegal drugs but there's always two sides to a story. There are many different views and I see where you are coming from in terms of people who creating this having a different view than others. It is all how we see things but how then do we come together with different views to create one decision?
ReplyDeleteThis is a fascinating issue, which I think brings Descartes' idea of universal reason into question. Does universal reason align with the law? if so, then the state certainly should not be encouraging the use of a drug which it has deemed illegal. But what if universal reason does not align with the law, but instead with people's base instincts to survive and protect others close to them? In that case, the benefits of protecting heroin users from unsafe needles, disease transmission, and potential overdose outweighs the "moral" argument of the law. The very fact that the law may contradict the reasoning of some people makes me thing that there can be no true universal reason, because different people simply have different reasoning.
ReplyDelete