ABSTRACT
Natural law is thought to be a kind of 'cloaking device' used in order to 'conceal' the imposition of divine moral imperatives on secular society. Natural law is rightly classified as an 'objectivist' approach to ethics because it defends the tenet that there is discernible truth to be had in morality—truth that we are all, in principle, able to grasp and appreciate. Natural law is an approach to normativity rooted in the idea of 'perfectionism'—the view that morality and politics ought to promote excellence of well-being in both the individual and in society at large. The chapter presents an overview of the key concepts discussed in the subsequent chapters of this book. The book relates to some questions of scope and meaning over use of the terms 'suicide', 'assisted suicide' and 'euthanasia'. It examines the relevance of prudential slippery slope reasoning to the contemporary debate over the legalization of assisted suicide and voluntary euthanasia.
