Various Thoughts XVIII

One of the most contentious issues in the dispute between theists and atheists concerning the origin and development of life is the structure of the eye. Many believe that it is too complex to have developed randomly. It is the debate between undirected evolution – which posits that the complicated structures within the orbit developed and learned to function together as a matter of pure chance – and the planned formation of a visual organ in of a sensory system suitable for each individual species, “directed evolution,” (a concept acceptable to many “believers”).

More complex, however, is reproduction itself. We no longer undergo binary fission, but how did we get from there to where we are now? If individual mutations are responsible, how did they happen to occur in a functional order and how did life survive through the intervening period, when the new system was developing – and that must have been a long time? New systems require new organs, new hormones, and new behaviors. All this by chance?

Without an eye there can be persistence of life. Perhaps olfactory sense could substitute during the intervening generations. But there would be an immediate end to life if there were no reproductive mechanism. Even if male and female organs developed simultaneously in individuals, those individuals would have to be in the same continent – near to each other and to find each other – and know what to do with their new parts. What are the odds?

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I thought I'd throw in some questions about “cruel and unusual punishment [CUP]” and similar problems. Most of the issues apply to death in one way or another. First of all, I'm concerned about FDA rules. Some states permit capital punishment and use drugs to effect it. Since I don't think the FDA has approved any drugs for killing people, this constitutes “off-label” use. Is this CUP and is it permissible? Some states permit suicide, including assisted suicide. May you use off-label effects to do yourself in? I know that outdated pharmaceuticals are disqualified for executions, but I wonder if a “loved one” supplies a drug one day beyond its expiration date for employment by a suicide, has he committed a crime?

On occasion, death-penalty opponents invoke the legal process to delay an execution. Is it CUP to make a convict wait for his end a second time? May such outsiders convince the courts not to execute him but change the sentence to “life without parole” when the individual involved would rather die than spend fifty years in prison, or is this CUP? If they succeed it is contrary to the wishes of the convict involved. And is either penalty, itself, CUP?

Who should pay the costs of execution? Is it a right, according to the First Amendment, for someone opposed to capital punishment because of his religion, to seek reimbursement of his portion of such costs? And who pays the medical costs 0f those who attempt suicide but fail – especially if they were “assisted” incorrectly?

Do long periods of pre-trial confinement of those who cannot afford bail, who may flee, and those considered too dangerous to be on the streets? Suppose they are ultimately found not guilty. Should they be reimbursed for the time they served though rendered innocent? And since a speedy trial is part of our tradition (“justice delayed is justice denied”) is it CUP to allow lawyers to delay proceedings for any reason?

It all becomes more complicated because the laws of the various states are not the same. Should they be?

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My “quality of life” may not be ideal, but I'll take it. My sense of taste is markedly reduced, making eating more a chore than a pleasure, but that's partly because my appetite leaves a lot to be desired. That symptom preceded the loss of taste so I can't put all the blame there, but together they take some of the excitement out of life, leaving a degree of boredom, but I'll take it. (By the way, “boredom” and “bedroom” share the same letters, which is fine considering the fatigue brought on by the chemotherapy and other meds. And also because I'm getting older.) I have a neuropathy which affects my feet, lower legs, and fingers. Because of the leg and foot involvement I totter. I'm unsteady and I fall or nearly fall a lot. And the finger symptoms make it hard for me to button buttons and hold some things. I'm a wreck.

But I'm alive and I'll take all the trade-offs.

I'd probably be far less sanguine if I were suffering – if, for example, I had unbearable pain. But I don't. The pain I have is well controlled and no real problem. Were I in pain I might be less interested in continuing the status quo. Some states would permit me to commit suicide. They might even help me. But I wonder if the solution to this problem, and others, is to eliminate it by suicide rather than deal with it. Some would follow the route of invoking nothingness but it's not for me. I prefer hope, denial, and a good pain management team. With their help I can maintain my belief in the “absolute” that harm to any individual, including the self, is wrong – even in the face of a less than ideal quality of life.

January 4, 2018

Bette And Beyond

                                                         
                                                                                    

“Old age ain't no place for sissies.” And “Getting old is not for sissies.” Both are the words of Bette Davis and represent her philosophy of (the latter part of) life.

Here I am in my “golden years” and I discover what so many have learned before me – they're not so golden. And I'm among the lucky ones. While I have the joint aches and memory losses so common among members of my cohort, I am in relatively good shape. I have no real right to complain as do so many others. I have a loving wife and children and grandchildren who provide me with more pleasure than I've earned. For the most part I still have all my marbles, and a few more I've won along the way. I remain capable of deep, and sophisticated thought.

Aye, there's the rub.

The more I think about it, the more I want to live forever,ⁱ and I see nothing in my way. Except the knowledge that I can't. I don't feel any older than I did many years ago. At least not intellectually.ⁱⁱ I find the story that I'm living out fascinating. I want to know what happens at the end. But there is no end. Or, at least, I hope not.

I'm at the age of introspection, like so many of my predecessors. I obsess over one of life's most sacred taboos: death.ⁱⁱⁱ The idea of nothingness – eternal nothingness – is something that is hard to grasp, despite its inevitability. There are many who view death as final, with no existence thereafter. Perhaps there is a “world to come” – an afterlife, as we learn from religious teachings – but it is hard not to consider the idea that the wife, children, and grandchildren whom I cherish now, will not be a part of that world and that life. Of course I won't know that.^iv I won't be cognizant of my previous existence, so it won't bother me then. But it bothers me now.

There's always the possibility that there is a continuation of what I see as my current life after death occurs. That would provide me with the eternal life for which I'm hoping.^v A life that ends abruptly and is an isolated event doesn't seem reasonable or fair. But it's hard to view eternal life as likely.^vi It's a very child-like solution to a problem far too difficult to understand.

Children are frightened of death. Whether the concerns center on the loss of a parent, monsters under the bed, eternal nothingness, or some formless and indescribable “bad thing,” there is a period when terror my be initiated by night, by the presence of a babysitter, or simply by turning off a light.^vii That anxiety, however, is short-lived^viii and feelings of immortality resulting from the slow development of the frontal lobes supervenes, driving such concerns from consciousness. The issue doesn't resurface until later in life, but by that time “denial” is well established and there is separate compartmentalization of the fear from the intellectual knowledge that sooner or later the end will come. For most, “later” is the chosen option, so that whole line of thought can be dismissed quickly.

The fear of death, however, is not universal. Indeed, some seek it, though fortunately I'm not among them. But for many the pain of life is so overwhelming that nothingness is viewed as more desirable – a relief from whatever suffering they are enduring. That suffering may be purely psychological, or physical with a psychological component. Other factors that may play a part are economic and social. Actually, all may be related. An individual with a painful or incurable disease is likely to be depressed. No one wants to see him – it's too depressing for them. And he feels guilty for causing pain and expense to his family. The solution is the Hemlock Society or a doctor who will provide a way out. And a way out is the only way out.

When considering suicide, moreover, it's hard to overlook those who are eager to die as long as they take their enemies with them. There is no dearth of individuals with this Weltanshauung, especially in the Middle East where the clergy indoctrinate the young with the idea that such behavior is both laudable and rewarded.^ix Martyrdom is to be praised. At least if it's played out in others.

I guess there are times when giving your life may be a better choice than living. But they can't be very many. And I certainly won't attempt to list them because then I'll have to measure my own existence against them. Because I don't suffer from any of the physical, mental, economic, social, or other burdens that cause people to seek an end, I cannot imagine them or the proposed “cure.” I realize that my attitude will be considered flip by those in pain, but, at least for the moment, I'll tolerate the afflictions of my golden years.

My oldest granddaughter will be married this afternoon. That gives me a shot at becoming a great-grandfather in my old age. So notwithstanding Bette Davis, it's worth the tribulations. And I'm not a sissy. 

 

 

 

 

Next episode:  "In The Beginning" – Who knows?

I       Especially considering the alternative.

ii      I must admit I have aches here and there, but I can live with them.

iii     But doesn't everyone?

iv      No one knows what happens at death. We can't figure it out. And we can't know G-d's plans. Our logic is not adequate to guess His “thoughts.” As Jay Livingston said, “Que sera, sera.” “Whatever will be, will be.” We don't know too much.

v       A sage once cautioned, “Be careful what you wish for. You may just get it.” Eternal life as a demented senior in a nursing home may not be a bargain.

vi      If we're certain of anything in the religious sphere, it's that human and Divine rationality and considerations are very different (not that there is any way we can fathom Divine “thought”). There is no way we can know what is “fair” or “unfair” in this world, nor what lies ahead.

vii     Is that so different from the fears of an adult?

viii    An interesting description and occurrence.

ix     Meanwhile they (the clergy) remain in safety while sending out their followers to become the suicide bombers.