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Summaryinasentence:
ThelineIamtakingisnotunfamiliar:itisacri5queofcertainkindsofindividualism
LifeanddeathissuesliedeepintheJudaeo-Chris5antradi5onofhowtoseetheworldandotherpeople• Anunderstandingoftheworldascreatedandsoofthegi@-givennatureofwhatweexperience
• Anunderstandingofthedis5nc5venessofhumanity:peopleasstewards/priestsofcrea5on
• Asenseofthesanc5tyoflife–possiblybecauseoftheconsciousrela5ontoGodandindomitablevoiceofconscience.Andnotonlyhumanlife.
Note:these“sanc5tyoflife”argumentarenotallthereistoChris5anity–thereareotherdimensions
Tradi?onallyChris?anityhasbeenopposedtosuicide,andhencetodoctor-assistedsuicideLaKerly,weseeashi@inginposi5ons:• Canada–doctor-assisteddyingrecentlylegalised–church
doesnotsupportbutnotopposedtonewlegisla5on• LordCarey:“Wemustlistentothepleasofpeoplewho
wanttodiewithdignity…”• ArchbishopDesmondTutu:dyingwithdignity/rightto
choose/assisteddying(2016)
Understandablebutnoten?relypersuasiveastheissuesaresocomplicated–riskofdismantlingunexpressedtrust
Life&deathissueshavebeenmuchdiscussedAfavoriteinmoralphilosophyclasses:Thereareclassic‘baKlefield’examples(egsoldiertrappedbyhipsinburningtank…)Usefulforintroduc5onto–• Slipperyslopearguments–(false)argumentthatthereis
nohardline• “Equivalence”betweenactsandomissions• DoctrineofDoubleEffect(Howintendedisthe2ndeffect?)• Wranglebetweendeontologicalandconsequen5alist
perspec5ves• Howtobecertainofconsent
TherearenotonlyDeonologicalandConsequen5alistarguments(whichseemtosomeChris5anstomissthepointorbe“inmidair”• ArealsoNarra5ve/Communitarianapproacheswhicharenon-individualis5candpost-liberalandconcentrateoncontext
• ClassicallyexpressedbyStanleyHauerwas(b1940)
---DukeUniversity---TimeMagazine(2001):“America’sbesttheologian”
StanleyHauerwascomesfromanAnabap5st,non-establishedchurchposi5on.• [email protected]“ResidentAliens”
• Stronglyan5-warandpro-peace• Butexpressesan“earthed”and“grounded”Chris5anperspec5vewhichisnotindividualistmoreeffec5velythanabstractoughts&permissions.
• “WhoamI?”precedes“WhatshouldIdo?”
Anexampleofthe“turntocommunity”inmoraldecisionmaking-HauerwasonhumansexualityIn1980sliberalorthodoxy:anythingpermissibleifsufficientmutuality,consentandabsenceofpowerimbalanceHauerwas:• Conceptslike“mutuality”tooabstracttohavepurchase–whoknowsifthereisenoughmutuality?
• Conceptsneedtobelocatedina“thicker”accountofcommunitylifeandexpecta5ons
• Theques5onisnot“WhatshouldIdo?”[Abstract]but“WhoamI?”[Concrete]
Hauerwassawacontestinsexualethicsbetweenliberal“realists”[Sexbetweenyoungpeopleisgoingtohappenanyhow]andconserva5ve“Roman?cs”[Savingmyselfformybeloved]Theysharemorethanisno5ced:• Bothareprimarilyindividualistanddealwith“private”ac5ons• Bothneglecttheins?tu?onalcontextofsexualinterac5ons• HauerwasclaimedwecannotdevelopaChris5ansexualethicwithout
insis5ngthatsexisa“public”[ieins5tu5onal]maKerfortheChris5ancommunity
*Similarargumentsapplytodeath&dying*• Dyingisnotapurely“private”actbutcarriescommunity&socialfreight• ArgumentsbyfashionableChris5ansareo@enabout“me”and“my
dying”,nottheunintendedconsequencesforeveryoneelseando@enneglectculturalembeddedness.Socri5calofTutuandCarey
Hauerwashasacharacteris?callyrobustviewonself-chosendeath:• Theques5onisnotwhetherself-chosendeath(SCD)is“ra5onal”but“whatkindof‘blessedness’weshouldexpectfromlife”
• Claimsthat:“Ourwillingnesstoliveinthefaceofsuffering,pain,andthesheerboredomoflifeismorallyaservicetooneanotherasitisasignthatlifecanbeendured…withjoyandexuberance…”
Hauerwasonvoluntarydying• “Thereisnothing…whichentailsthatwemustdo
everythingwecantokeepaliveinallcondi?ons….”• “…thedis5nc5onisdependentontheinheritedwisdomof
acommunitythathassomeideaofwhata‘gooddeath’entails…”
• SCDisnotajudgementaboutthequalityofmyagency,“butareminderthatwehavefailedtoembodyasacommunitythecommitmentnottoabandononeanother…”
• “Wefearbeingaburdenforothers,butevenmoretoourselves.Yetitisonlybyrecognizingthatweareinescapablyaburdenthatwefacetherealityandopportunityoflivingtruthfully…”
Havepointedtoargumentbasedon“theturntocommunity”inChris5anmoraltheologyThisisrecentlydevelopedinsociologicaldirec5ons:ProfessorLindaWoodhead(LancasterUniversity):Religionshave3elements–• Theperennial(everydayprac5ces)• Theritual(howwe‘ritualize’everydayelements)• Thedoctrinal(ra5onalisa5ons)Strongreligionspriori?sethe“perennial”,andweakreligionspriori?sethe“doctrinal”
Powerfuldevelopmentandre-presenta5onofthisstyleofargumentbyDrMichaelBanner(DeanofTrinity,Cambridge)inTheEthicsofEverydayLife[CUP,2014]Hearguesthatthereare2contemporary“scrip5ngs”ofdeath:thehospiceandeuthanasiaThinkoftheseas“ritualisa?ons”/“scripts”fordying• Dyingisperennial(weallwilldie)• “Hospice”and“Euthanasia”areritualisa?onsofhowwedie---Thoughtheyareindeepconten5ontheyhavemanyoverlaps.Theyshare:• Cri5queofover-medicaliza5on• Concernforself-consciousagencyindying• Inapplicabilitytothe“longdying”characteris5cof“theaffluent
west”
MichaelBanner’sargumentTheno?onof“Chris?andeath”ratherthan“thedeathofaChris?an”isanhistoricalconstruct:• UnderstandingofChrist’sdeathasexemplary• Understandingthat“thelastjudgement”isre-locatedfromtheendof5metothemomentofdeathofeachindividualChris5an
Thisledtoavast(andpopular)literatureon“Howtodiewell”.A“script”wascreatedforChris?andyingCharlesDickensandelsewhere.• Agooddeathpresupposedconsciousagencyatmomentofdeath(orsomerecentpoint)andfarewells,forgivenessetcetc.
Itisthisno5onof“agooddeath”whichfeedsBOTHthehospicemovementandthecallforeuthanasia• Bothmovementscri5cise“medicaliseddying”---Kuhbler-Ross:“dyingnowadaysis…lonely,mechanicalanddehumanised”[Unfair???]---Thereareclaimsofeitherovertreatmentorneglect• Bothmovements“equallyimbuedwith…self-expressionandpreserva5onofiden5ty”(MBanner)
• SeetherecentargumentbyLordCareyabout“dyingwithdignity”
Banner’sinsight:“Hospicecarebidstopreserveandmaintaintheprojectoftheselfforaslongaspossible…”“Euthanasiabringsdeathforwardssoastoavoidtheriskofthedeathoftheselfpriortobiologicaldeath…”[bothquotesfrompage115]• Thecommonpresupposi.onistodowithagencyandapar.cular(Western)no.onoftheself
Banner:Legalrecogni5onofmedicallyassisteddyinghasanimplica.onforthedyingofallothers:thoseotherswillbedoingsomethingtheyhadnotdonebefore,i.e.choosingnottodie[page116]• Isthisjust?Complicated.Involvesques5onsofinformedconsent,judicialreview,slipperyslopesetcetc
Equallyfundamentally:neitherhospicecarenoreuthanasiaaddressthesitua?onofthoseundergoing“ourmodernlongdying”
Banner:“…maybeonly20%ofuscanexpectaclearlyheraldeddeath…twiceasmanywillexperiencenotaclearlymarkeddyingbutaprotracted‘dwindling’…..[which]willnotallowustoassumethedyingrole…”[page118]• Alongdwindlingraisesissuesaboutdyinglesso@enaddressedbyclassicalbioethics
• Tounderstand“unscripteddying”,Bannerturnstoanthropology
Whatthismeans–pusngMichaelBanner’sandLindaWoodhead’sworktogether–isthatoneislookingforways“toritualise”[iegivepaKernandstructure]to“unscripted”longdying/dwindlingBannerturnstoanthropologicalstudiesofcare/death/dyingincarehomesandinIndia-
Referenceto:PiaKontoss:“EmbodiedSeltood:AnEthnographicExplora5onofAlzheimer’sDisease”inLeibing&Cohen,ThinkingaboutDemen<a(NewBrunswick,NJ,2006)AthenaMcLean:ThePersoninDemen<a(Peterborough,Ontario,2007)LawrenceCohen:NoAginginIndia:Alzheimer’s,TheBadFamily,andOtherModernThings(Berkeley,1998)
Anthropologicalapproachdoesnotevadeaneedforbioethics,buttakesdyingbeyonditsnormal“scrip?ng”:• Challengesthesimpleassocia5onofdemen5awith“lossofself”
• Ques5onstheWesternrepresenta5onofpersonhoodwhichhingesoncogni5onandmemory–andexplores“embodied”memory
• Offerstheclaimthatiden5ty(orpersonality)isafunc5onofthenatureoftheprovisionofcare
Whatmighta“scrip?ng”for“longdying”looklike??• Needsmuchmoreanthropologicalresearch.• Possiblysomethinglikeacombina5onof“Firstdayatschool”and“Becomingthirty”[Wewillalldie–it’sunstoppablelikebecoming30,butastudehelps;“firstdayatschool”canbeadjusted,canbescarybuts5llanadventureinwhichwecanbeaccompaniedandencouraged]
