MARY WARNOCK (1924–2019), U.K. PHILOSOPHER
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Mary Warnock. (2008). «A Duty to Die?». Omsorg. Nordisk tidsskrift for palliativ medisin [Care. Nordic Journal of Palliative Medicine], 4: 3–5.
- See also my Open Access article, Materstvedt LJ (2025). «Mary Warnock (1924–2019) om 'en plikt til å dø': En begreps- og argumentasjonsanalyse» [Mary Warnock (1924–2019) on 'a duty to die': an analysis of her concept usage and arguments]. Norsk filosofisk tidsskrift; 1–2: 4–17.
- Abstract: Mary Warnock is one of the most prominent female philosophers of our time. This article places her in the philosophical landscape alongside four other key British women philosophers of the same period. Warnock's development from classical philosopher to bioethicist and public figure is also addressed. She held that the seriously ill may have a duty to die, which is the main theme of the present article. What is involved in this is explored, and which concepts and arguments are central in this connection. Furthermore, a brief analysis of her position is given in light of normative ethical theory and existentialism. Finally, it is documented that philosophers have given an untenable presentation of Warnock's position, on a failing basis.
In the capacity of member of the journal Omsorg's editorial board (editor-in-chief was anesthesiologist and senior physician Stein Husebø), I invited Warnock to write for us in a special issue on assisted dying (i.e., euthanasia and assisted suicide), a job she took on promptly. Below on this page is a copy of her article. (Unfortunately it is nowhere to be found online, so I am glad to be able to post it here on my academic home page for everyone to read.)
Her views sparked a lot of controversy in the UK, and in an interview Warnock also said: “Actually I’ve just written an article called ‘A Duty to Die?’ for a Norwegian periodical. I wrote it really suggesting that there’s nothing wrong with feeling you ought to do so for the sake of others as well as yourself.” (Martin Beckford. «Baroness Warnock: Dementia sufferers may have a 'duty to die'». The Telegraph, 18 September 2008.)
Earlier in 2008 Warnock published, together with oncologist Elisabeth Macdonald, Easeful Death: Is There a Case for Assisted Dying? by Oxford University Press.
See book review by philosopher Onora O’Neill. (2008). «Book. Questions of life and death». The Lancet, 372: 1291–1292. Remarks O'Neill: «Mary has for many years written and thought about assisted dying. Indeed, her recent comments that people with dementia should be helped to die ... have prompted much heated debate.»
Read more about Warnock in Duncan Wilson. (2014). The Making of British Bioethics. Manchester University Press; Open Access.
Furthermore, see Rick Lewis. «Interview. Baroness Mary Warnock». Philosophy Now, 2006, 55: May/June.
Warnock died aged 94, see Brian Pendreigh. «Obituary: Mary Warnock, Baroness dubbed the ‘philosophical plumber to the establishment’». The Scotsman, 3 April 2019.
