Abstract
The Stoics considered that in order to die well, one must previously have lived (well) and not merely existed, an assertion which will not be contested in this paper. The question raised here is whether an individual whose life expectancy is jeopardized by serious illness or whose life has not been lived to the ‘full’ for whatever reason should have to abandon all hope or, alternately, whether that life could still somehow be saved (in an ethical sense). One clear obstacle to achieving this stems from (bad) moral character, given that moral character is an element which conditions an individual’s moral behaviour, as pointed out by Beauchamp and Childress and particularly Pellegrino and Thomasma. The transformation of moral character requires time and effort but the testimonies of patients who have given their lives a radical new direction upon being diagnosed with a serious illness seem to show the existence of a peculiar phenomenon of moral catharsis. In this paper we attempt to illustrate that this alleged phenomenon is not the result of a kind of cataleptic impression but rather the result of a dialectic and narrative process, during which a first hope of healing is dashed, unveiling a new sense in the illness. Its fulfillment provides the patient with a final hope.
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Notes
In this case, quoting Oliver Sacks: “My adventure was drawing to an end. But I knew that something important had happened that could leave its mark on me and meaningfully transform me from now on. A whole life, an entire universe had been compressed into these weeks: a destiny of experience that is neither given to the majority of men nor desired by them. But a destiny which, with its passing, would renew and guide me”. (Sacks, Oliver. A Leg to Stand On. Cit. in Frank, 2013, pp. 123–124).
Citing here the book “No Less a Woman” by Deborah Kahane, in which the character Terri says: “I would never have chosen to be taught in this way, but I like my transformation. I suppose I had to go to the limit to get there” (cit. in Frank, 2013, p. 128).
“Λείπεται ἄρα εἶναι ἔξιν ἀληθῆ μετὰ λόγου πρακτικὴ περὶ τά ἀνθρῴπῳ ἀγαθὰ καὶ κακά”. Italics added.
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Acknowledgements
A first draft of this paper was presented at the I International Seminar of Philosophy of Law ‘Work In Progress’ at the Faculty of Law of the University of A Coruña on the 24th of June 2019. My thanks are extended to the participants, especially to its coordinator Pedro Serna and to José Antonio Seoane, Nuria Varela, Carolina Pereira, Alfonso Ballesteros and Milagros Arias, for their valuable feedback and to Lara Harding for her translation.
Funding
This work is financed by the research project “The New Human Rights: legal theory and political praxis” (PID2019-111115 GB-I00), directed by P. Serna, financed by the Ministry of Science and Innovation and Universities (2019–2021).
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Vergara, O. To be alive when dying: moral catharsis and hope in patients with limited life prognosis. Med Health Care and Philos 24, 517–527 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-021-10028-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11019-021-10028-1