Cohen & Kass sulla fine della vita

Una lunga omelia («Cast Me Not Off in Old Age», su Commentary di gennaio) dalla conclusione prevedibile:

In the end, there is no “solution” to the problems of old age, at least no solution that any civilized society could tolerate. But there are better and worse ways to see our aging condition. The better way begins in thinking of ourselves less as wholly autonomous individuals than as members of families; in relinquishing our mistaken belief that medicine can miraculously liberate our loved ones or ourselves from debility and decline, and instead taking up our role as caregivers; and in abjuring the fantasy that we can control the manner and the hour of our dying, learning instead to accept death in its proper season as mortal beings replaced and renewed by the generations that follow.

Ovviamente, né eutanasia né testamento biologico sono alternative da prendere in considerazione. Eppure i due sono consapevoli dei cambiamenti della società che rendono sempre meno possibile, anche per chi lo volesse, continuare a considerarsi piuttosto «membri di una famiglia» che «individui autonomi»...