Binding and Hoche’s “Life Unworthy of Life”: A Historical and Ethical Analysis

The 1920 essay by German attorney Karl Binding and psychiatrist Alfred Hoche, “Permitting the Destruction of Life Unworthy of Life,” is often characterized as a stepping-stone toward the Nazi genocide policies. A careful review of Binding and Hoche’s arguments does reveal elements that foreshadow Nazi thinking, but it also contains points that fail to parallel—or that directly contradict—Nazi death practices. A proper ethical and historical analysis of this work requires a more nuanced discussion than it often receives.