- Simon Critchley. professor and chair of philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York
(from an interview with Andrea MIller and published in her book Awakening Heart)
"I think so. Dignity is key. Most people now die in a drug induced state, and in some cases, this interferes with dignity. In the past, a lot of people died in pain, but that wasn’t necessarily bad. A great example is Epicurus. He died in enormous pain, yet he endured and died with tranquility. This was essential to his teaching: do not fear death. These days, the overwhelming issue is not dying in pain, not being a burden to anybody else. So. there’s a sense that you should drug people, pacify them. Yet there are people in the modern age who have done other things – Freud, for instance. He had twenty-seven operations for cancer of the mouth and refused to take painkillers because, he said, he’d rather think in pain than not think at all."
- Simon Critchley. professor and chair of philosophy at the New School for Social Research in New York (from an interview with Andrea MIller and published in her book Awakening Heart) Comments are closed.
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Victor M. Parachin ...is aVedic educator, yoga instructor, Buddhist meditation teacher and author of a dozen books. Buy his books at amazon or your local bookstore. Archives
March 2024
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