Ethics

The main premises that John Hardwig relies upon to reachthe conclusion that in certain circumstances, people have a duty to die, evenwhen they may prefer to live. The critical responses and the most convincing critique.

John (1983, n.pag) says that in certain circumstances, people have a duty to die, even when they may prefer to live. He says that those with burdensome illnesses, dependencies, or medical conditions have a duty to die perhaps because ill, dependent, or aged individuals can impose unfair burdens upon others by continuing to live.

The argument is that this statement that we have a duty to die especially to the elderly shows that the government does not have a good financial plan for long term care of the elderly persons when they are no longer able to work for their own living forcing others to take care of them.  This means that the elderly should terminate their lives and that those who are approaching the old age of dependence should work out a plan that will bring them to quick death before the time. It means that an old person is interfering with careers of others who are still very active in this life. It could also mean that it is time for the little or available funds to be channeled to the young and the children.

I view this as a letter of suicide addressing the issue to the rest of remaining persons why I, an elderly person, has chosen to take his life.

More specifically, in situations where a duty to die exists, an individuals having a duty to die logically implies that those she burdens have a right to kill that individual in self-defense. I then suggest that the burdens that ill, dependent, or aged individuals impose on their families, loved ones, or caregivers do not constitute the kind of threat that warrants the latter killing the former in self-defense. Hence, the duty to die is much rarer than Hardwig supposes.

John argues that we are under the spell of two Cartesian legacies motives, interests, beliefs, desires, and attitudes which are mental states. He continues to state that mental states exist in a consciousness, and that each and every one of us knows her own beliefs, values, feelings, and many more. There is a problem of knowing another persons mind even though we ourselves understand our own minds. We may know our consciousness but not that of another.

The motive for living is to enjoy the life you have and by implying that when you are elderly you have come to the end is wrong because this person has a motive for each and every day of their life. The mental interference to our behaviour including the verbal ones creates a mental state that is very precarious. You may not believe but someone who is ill and old may believe that tomorrow heshe will be very much healthy and maybe stronger to handle some tasks. There was a report that the former president of Kenya Mzee Jomo Kenyatta asks his personal doctor after receiving news that he was not very fit and based on the fact that he was growing older, it was time to look for a replacement, joked, but is there anything you cannot do to keep this body as strong I take this quote to say that even as John suggested the tasks in our lives depends on the individual how does heshe feel about this life Is it time for death now