Should we let someone die who is unwilling (but otherwise capable) of doing what is needed to stay alive?

Follow

@freemo on whether they can be helped, change their mind about it, and get better.

Β· Β· 2 Β· 0 Β· 0

@freemo it's the idea that people don't always know what's best for them as in "I don't need no education". This has been massively abused by various autocratic regimes and nanny states but it's not a reason to let people kill themselves just because they're going through a phase.

@mjambon This seems like a very different answer than your earlier one... So if someone "doesnt know what is best for them" shall we force them?

@mjambon and if they seem unwilling to hav etheir mind changed or make the effort to get better?

@freemo I think it should be up to you to decide when faced with such a situation, not the law. Personally, I don't have firm rules for deciding this, possibly because I was never faced with such a situation.

@mjambon Well I never mentioned the law. But the idea here is to get a sense of what people think the guidline is, that way as a society we can decide on how it would be appropriate to handle various situations. That may or may not influence law.

@freemo like most people, I'd probably spend more effort to rescue the people I know and love than strangers. It's unfortunate for those who are the most isolated.

@mjambon Would that even be rescue, to force someone to do what you think is best for them when they explicitly dont want it?

@mjambon Good idea, before we do anything we should always check with the future first :)

@freemo all decisions are based on how we imagine the future. My previous message was about confronting a past prediction with an actual outcome: "I made you live even though you didn't want it because I thought you'd feel better later. How are you now?"

@freemo I'm not sure what you mean exactly by "cop out". Clearly, I don't want a hard rule to decide whether someone lives or die. Such a situation seems important and rare enough that it deserves serious pondering when it happens.

Sign in to participate in the conversation
Qoto Mastodon

QOTO: Question Others to Teach Ourselves
An inclusive, Academic Freedom, instance
All cultures welcome.
Hate speech and harassment strictly forbidden.