Current Events (December)

*new* 4Dec12  Frontline on Suicide
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/suicide-plan/

3Dec12  Coffin Tours (?!)
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-20571517#

NYTimes: Aiding the Doctor Who Feels Cancer's Toll
Doctors who care for the terminally ill may find themselves sharing their patients' pain and facing burnout from the stresses of their jobs.  http://nyti.ms/TflH9F

Philosophy in the world

What experiences in your life are hard to reconcile with our course material?  (Be specific in identifying the material).  Why is it hard?  What else could you do to square your thinking/philosophizing and your lived experience?

More Philosophy?  Would you take an additional philosophy course if money/time weren’t factors?  Explain.

Your Obituary

Review the Preface and pp. 6-13 of Barry and The Death of Ivan Illyich.  What is the meaning of life?  What are you not realizing about life?  How might an examination of life inform your living?  Answer this question, in part, by thinking about your own obituary.  What do you need to do now in order to have that obituary?  Feel free to reference Barry, Stevenson & Tolstoy in your response.

Does Death Give Life Meaning?

What do you think after our course?

Death of Ivan Ilych - extra credit

If you want extra credit, you must answer all of these questions and send your response to me via email.  Otherwise, just answer a few questions, whatever strikes your interest, for regular blog credit.

1. A brief 1 or 2 paragraph summary.

2. Write a 1 or 2 paragraph overall reaction to the story.

3. Comment on the following passages:

* p. 38 death as a third person, the screens

* p. 42 propriety, how people behave (then, now, etc.)

* p. 43 wanting to be cuddled, touched, treated as human

* p. 45-7 lies, not talking directly about the dying except to the servant, Gerasim (more on p. 50)

* p. 50-2 pain, abandonment, life review, the failure of propriety

How Ought We to Live? Can We Hope?

This is specifically referencing the Conclusions to your Stevenson and Barry texts, but you aren't limited to that text in building your answer.

Truth

Are there absolute truth(s)?  About what?  How do you know?

Which Theory of Human Nature is Most Persuasive?

Which of the theories of human nature in the Stevenson book do you find most persuasive and why?  Use specific examples.  You don’t have to commit to just one theory, you can pick and choose from various theories.  

This should be a lively threaded discussion. . .

Who is the patient?

Is a patient just the individual or the individual in a community/family?  Who should have decision-making powers, especially in end-of-life situations?

Futile Treatment

What is the definition of futile treatment?  Should it be offered?  Should it be given if a patient requests it?

The Diving Bell & the Butterfly

HIV, AIDS, World AIDS Day 3 Dec 12

NYTimes: New H.I.V. Cases Falling in Some Poor Nations, but Treatment Still Lags
A U.N. report showed that 2.5 million people became infected last year, while only 1.4 million received lifesaving treatment for the first time.
http://nyti.ms/WvcC2j

Technology Improvements Undermining Efforts to Reduce Spread of HIV
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/world/asia/indian-prostitutes-new-autonomy-imperils-aids-fight.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121125

http://www.trust.org/alertnet/news/hiv-infections-fall-un-says-ending-aids-feasible/

Hurricane Sandy

from Peter
http://www.cnn.com/2012/10/29/us/tropical-weather-sandy/index.html
that just happened last Monday. I am posting this because I can relate this to our recent discussion on advanced directives. It is obvious that anybody can die at any time, especially in the case of a severe natural disaster. This is a very good reason to have an advanced directive as soon as possible.

 

Advance Directives (your Thanksgiving treat)

Why planning is important:
http://m.aljazeera.com/story/2012111382019297736

KY Advance Directive
http://www.caringinfo.org/files/public/ad/Kentucky.pdf (very readable; from National Hospice & Palliative Care Org.)
http://www.kyjustice.org/node/584 (lots of explanation)
http://www.lrc.ky.gov/krs/311-00/625.PDF (the legal statute & document)

OH Advance Directive
http://www.caringinfo.org/files/public/ad/Ohio.pdf (from National Hospice & Palliative Care Org.)
http://my.clevelandclinic.org/patients-visitors/legal-ethical-decisions/personal-medical-decisions/advance-directives.aspx (packet of info from the Cleveland Clinic)
http://www.ohiolegalservices.org/public/legal_problem/wills-and-probate/advanced-directives/qandact_view (Ohio Legal Services)

Power, Responsibility, & Moral Failings

*new* Story about close collaboration and how that can lead situations to go "sideways"
http://chronicle.com/article/Affairs-of-HeartMind/136085/?cid=at&utm_source=at&utm_medium=en

So, what do you make of the Petraeus scandal?  An isolated case?  (see second & third stories below).   A reminder that even the best people can make mistakes?  Are these stories indicative of human moral frailty, modern corruption, particular people's stories, unfortunate series of events, or ???  Can someone fail in one area of life (personal relationships) yet be successful in another (work, career)?  Does having an affair mean that the offending party doesn't love the spouse?  What does it mean to have an affair?  (I know!  too many questions . . . just answer the ones that strike you).

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/14/us/top-us-commander-in-afghanistan-is-linked-to-petraeus-scandal.html?nl=todaysheadlines&adxnnl=1&emc=edit_th_20121113&adxnnlx=1352836831-ddYAalkJWWJguYcY+wNbww

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/13/us/petraeuss-resignation-highlights-concern-over-military-officers-ethics.html?ref=us

http://www.salon.com/2012/11/13/petraeus_the_ongoing_saga/?source=newsletter

I'll say:
It makes me sad for the spouses who have been caught up in the scandal.  It is *so* public.  I think people try hard and often fail.  I don't think it necessarily means that the parties involved in both scandals don't love their spouses, or are necessarily bad people, but holy cow would it be hard to deal with those betrayals on a national stage.  Good luck to all of them!

Polish immigrant murders two children in brutal fashion.

http://www.examiner.com/article/illinois-babysitter-accused-of-killing-two-children-gives-police-mixed-stories

Meaningful Music, Films, Books

Dear All,
What music, films, books do you find philosophically meaningful with respect to our course?  Generally about human nature and/or specifically about death & dying?  I'll start with a few favorites:

The Cold Missouri Waters (about a horrible 1949 forest fire which killed a bunch of firefighters; told from the point of view of the sole survivor)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgQNeGPJdcQ

Will the Circle Be Unbroken?
A classic folk song with many, many versions.  Here's an old one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLFbUbmH7To

Current Events (November)

*new* 28Nov12 Pregnant Woman Allowed to Die in Ireland
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/15/world/europe/hospital-death-in-ireland-renews-fight-over-abortion.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1354132871-LT89WStiE+uN5uBs6rQazQ

25Nov12 End of Life Care
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/25/opinion/sunday/end-of-life-health-care.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121125

NYTimes: Managing the Assisted Living vs. Hospice Dilemma
When hospice services are brought into assistant living facilities for older residents with terminal illnesses, problems can arise. Here are tips for making sure there is good communication between families, hospice staff, assisted living staff and paid caregivers.
http://nyti.ms/S986la

NYTimes: When Treating Cancer Is Not an Option
Aggressive chemotherapy when death is but weeks or months away can seriously compromise the quality of patients' remaining time and may delay their preparations for the end of life.
http://nyti.ms/WfP38V

14 Nov 12 Brain Imagining Allows Communication with Vegetative Man
http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/33264/title/An--Unconscious--Man-Talks/

12Nov12  Self-Immolations Protesting Re: Tibet
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/10/world/asia/educated-chinese-are-silent-amid-tibetan-self-immolations.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121110 

5Nov12 Suicide Increase During Recession
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/11/05/health/us-suicide-rate-rose-during-recession-study-finds.html?nl=todaysheadlines&emc=edit_th_20121105 


I just wanted to start a new post for current events in November!

My mom called me the other day and told me about a very tragic event that happened in Carroll County, Kentucky. There was a bus wreck and two preschoolers died. Three others were in ICU. My mom works in Transportation and Student Services at the school district that I attended, so for her, this story really hit home. I think this story is hard for anyone that has a heart to hear. I feel like in class, we often talk about death in the perspective of adults. Of course, we are adults, so it is hard to think about death from a child's perspective. I just wonder what kind of impact this event will have on the surviving children and how it will change their thoughts on death.

So, anyway, I will post the link to the story if anyone wants to read it.

http://www.wlky.com/news/local-news/kentucky-news/2-children-killed-in-Carroll-County-Head-Start-bus-crash/-/9718420/17183174/-/r15ta/-/index.html