Daniel Kahneman opted for assisted suicide in Switzerland
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Re: Daniel Kahneman opted for assisted suicide in Switzerland
#2An interesting choice. It's fascinating that even for very ill or injured people the will to survive is so strong - I wonder if at a certain age this instinct diminishes making a choice like his easier?
Re: Daniel Kahneman opted for assisted suicide in Switzerland
#3I had an old teacher who died almost a year ago.
Great guy, very sociable, knew everyone in the little town he lived in. Kept in touch with a lot of students. Good neighbour, friendly guy who'd talk to everyone.
He got Alzheimers. He started forgetting stuff, and it frustrated him. He got caught driving dangerously, and cursed the doctor who took away his license.
He argued with me about the state of some chicken he wanted to cook. I told him "this is pink all over, you have to cook it more". He got angry. I understood he'd become like this to everyone.
He pissed off everyone on his street, and all police, medical and social workers sent to help him. The disease made him blow up every relationship he had with anyone that he didn't know well, like me and a couple of colleagues.
He got found in his house, having left the gas on, endangering the whole street. He ended up in a care home, not knowing who he was, or who I was.
If he'd been run over by a car, or died of a heart attack at the age of 80, people he knew would remember him as that nice old guy who had a dog and made a lot of art, and was friendly to everyone. Instead he was that 83 year old guy who pissed off everyone, nearly blew up the neighbourhood, and drove like a maniac.
You really don't want to end up with dementia and related illnesses, it totally sours everyone's view of you.
Re: Daniel Kahneman opted for assisted suicide in Switzerland
#4> And even at the end, when asked what he would like to do, he said: "I would like to learn something."
Don't have an exact word to describe how I feel after reading above. Find it beautiful that such an accomplished person wanted to learn something even towards the end of his life.
Re: Daniel Kahneman opted for assisted suicide in Switzerland
#5Daniel wrote one of my favorite books, Thinking: Fast and Slow (https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp...). If you haven't read it, and you're into economics, behavioral psychology, and thinking about thinking then I'd highly recommend it. The first half of the book is especially compelling.
You will be missed! Sad to hear he passed, but glad he was able to go out on his own terms.
Re: Daniel Kahneman opted for assisted suicide in Switzerland
#6Related, a 5 page page PDF, freely downloadable:
Should assisted dying be legalised?
Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine volume 9, Article number: 3 (2014)
Thomas D G Frost, Devan Sinha & Barnabas J Gilbert
https://peh-med.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1747-5341...
Abstract
When an individual facing intractable pain is given an estimate of a few months to live, does hastening death become a viable and legitimate alternative for willing patients? Has the time come for physicians to do away with the traditional notion of healthcare as maintaining or improving physical and mental health, and instead accept their own limitations by facilitating death when requested? The Universities of Oxford and Cambridge held the 2013 Varsity Medical Debate on the motion “This House Would Legalise Assisted Dying”. This article summarises the key arguments developed over the course of the debate. We will explore how assisted dying can affect both the patient and doctor; the nature of consent and limits of autonomy; the effects on society; the viability of a proposed model; and, perhaps most importantly, the potential need for the practice within our current medico-legal framework.
Re: Daniel Kahneman opted for assisted suicide in Switzerland
#7Daniel wrote one of my favorite books, Thinking: Fast and Slow ( https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp... ). If you haven't read it, and you're into economics, behavioral psychology, and thinking about thinking then I'd highly recommend it. The first half of the book is especially compelling. You will be missed! Sad to hear he passed, but glad he was able to go out on his own terms.
His next big book, Noise, is possibly even better.
Re: Daniel Kahneman opted for assisted suicide in Switzerland
#8[dead]
Re: Daniel Kahneman opted for assisted suicide in Switzerland
#9Daniel wrote one of my favorite books, Thinking: Fast and Slow ( https://www.amazon.com/Thinking-Fast-Slow-Daniel-Kahneman/dp... ). If you haven't read it, and you're into economics, behavioral psychology, and thinking about thinking then I'd highly recommend it. The first half of the book is especially compelling. You will be missed! Sad to hear he passed, but glad he was able to go out on his own terms.
I didn't even know he had died. I agree, Thinking: Fast and Slow is a great book.
Re: Daniel Kahneman opted for assisted suicide in Switzerland
#10Related, a 5 page page PDF, freely downloadable: Should assisted dying be legalised? Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine volume 9, Article number: 3 (2014) Thomas D G Frost, Devan Sinha & Barnabas J Gilbert https://peh-med.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1747-5341... Abstract When an individual facing intractable pain is given an estimate of a few months to live, does hastening death become a viable and…
A quote from the above:
> It is difficult to reconcile that citizens may have the right to do almost anything to and with their own bodies– from participating in extreme sports to having elective plastic surgery– yet a terminal patient cannot choose to avoid experiencing additional months of discomfort or loss of dignity in their final months of life.