Iridescence
Rookie
- Banned
- #1
A book by M. Scott Peck titled Denial of the Soul has become one of the most thought provoking books I have read to date. It is regarding spiritual and medical perspectives on euthanasia and mortality.
I agree with his stance that euthanasia is not being given the consideration it deserves. He says it is as though it is being lost among the myriad of other issues that have come out of the closet or been on the table for some time. The issue of euthanasia may be more critical than all the others. He further states that we may need to reach a national consensus about it before all the other issues can be more satisfactorily resolved. I sincerely and passionately agree with him.
There is a profound wisdom in the way he addresses the good and the bad of euthanasia. "He is a physician, psychiatrist, and a theologian so he is uniquely suited to address the complex issues and paradoxes that have come from medicine's technical ability to perpetuate the mechanisms of life..."
Should we prolong life? Should we war against the natural process of dying? What would you, as an individual, prefer? To be kept alive... or to be allowed to die? At what point is enough? It is a very important subject and though life can be a marvelous gift, it seems it is also a curse. Bodies rotting from the inside out while being kept alive is not the way most any one would want to pass on.
This kind of thing... it's potential very well does represent a type of heaven vs. hell. The body rotting, the mind missing... Doctors and family members need to know what an individual's desire is, and it must be written in writing to be taken seriously in most every case. To give specific detailed instructions about such one needs to be up-to-date as possible on the medical procedures. Keeping a Medical Power of Attorney even if it seems that one is perfectly healthy in the later part of life is not a bad suggestion.
In this book he even brings up (perhaps predictably) assisted suicide and such. Is there ever a point or a case in life that such is more humane than attempted treatment? All too often, I am personally reminded of what has been shown to us about how the Priests had to torture and prosecute the mentally ill, the demonic, the possessed, claiming to know best. To drive the beasts out of the psyche. Sometimes the cures are far more harsh than the illness, the disease.
So what of it? Is euthanasia not given the attention it deserves? Should we focus on better defining what death truly is? Should we have 'blanket rules and guidelines' regarding such or should we determine such on an individual basis?
I hope others will find this as provoking as I have... as I have yet to return the overdue book to the library, I plan to renew it a third time. There is so much to absorb. *hearts*
I agree with his stance that euthanasia is not being given the consideration it deserves. He says it is as though it is being lost among the myriad of other issues that have come out of the closet or been on the table for some time. The issue of euthanasia may be more critical than all the others. He further states that we may need to reach a national consensus about it before all the other issues can be more satisfactorily resolved. I sincerely and passionately agree with him.
There is a profound wisdom in the way he addresses the good and the bad of euthanasia. "He is a physician, psychiatrist, and a theologian so he is uniquely suited to address the complex issues and paradoxes that have come from medicine's technical ability to perpetuate the mechanisms of life..."
Should we prolong life? Should we war against the natural process of dying? What would you, as an individual, prefer? To be kept alive... or to be allowed to die? At what point is enough? It is a very important subject and though life can be a marvelous gift, it seems it is also a curse. Bodies rotting from the inside out while being kept alive is not the way most any one would want to pass on.
This kind of thing... it's potential very well does represent a type of heaven vs. hell. The body rotting, the mind missing... Doctors and family members need to know what an individual's desire is, and it must be written in writing to be taken seriously in most every case. To give specific detailed instructions about such one needs to be up-to-date as possible on the medical procedures. Keeping a Medical Power of Attorney even if it seems that one is perfectly healthy in the later part of life is not a bad suggestion.
In this book he even brings up (perhaps predictably) assisted suicide and such. Is there ever a point or a case in life that such is more humane than attempted treatment? All too often, I am personally reminded of what has been shown to us about how the Priests had to torture and prosecute the mentally ill, the demonic, the possessed, claiming to know best. To drive the beasts out of the psyche. Sometimes the cures are far more harsh than the illness, the disease.
So what of it? Is euthanasia not given the attention it deserves? Should we focus on better defining what death truly is? Should we have 'blanket rules and guidelines' regarding such or should we determine such on an individual basis?
I hope others will find this as provoking as I have... as I have yet to return the overdue book to the library, I plan to renew it a third time. There is so much to absorb. *hearts*