The last decision by the leading thinker on decisions

<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.ph&#x2F;fEWrc" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;archive.ph&#x2F;fEWrc</a>

&gt; His wife had died in 2018 of a stroke after suffering from vascular dementia for a number of years. His mother had also died of cognitive decline years earlier.<p>Makes sense that he would want to avoid the mental decline he saw with his loved ones. Sounds like he identified some of the early signs in himself and decided to act.

My deep respect for this decision. There‘s this German saying - you ought to go when things are at their best. The older I grow, the more I‘m believing that quality of life is what we should always optimize for. Not duration, anyway. Or - both, without compromising the other too much?<p>I do think the point of where quality of life is declining too much is highly individual. And I hope we keep improving prophylaxis and treatments such that most people can turn 100 and still feel like they’re getting something out of life.

While never supporting such an idea in general, one must fall short of judging such an action, IMO. It&#x27;s between them and the Almighty.<p>There is an essay by Roger Scruton, &quot;Dying in Time&quot;, in &quot;Confessions of a Heretic&quot;[1] where he wrestles with our modern capacity to outlive our faculties. But I Decline Even Naming examples of that.<p>The last sentence reads: &quot;The main point, it seems to me, is to maintain a life of active risk and affection, while helping the body along the path to decay, remembering always that the value of life does not consist in its length but its depth.&quot;<p>[1] <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;books&#x2F;edition&#x2F;Confessions_of_a_Heretic_Revised_Edition&#x2F;Bdw7EAAAQBAJ" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;www.google.com&#x2F;books&#x2F;edition&#x2F;Confessions_of_a_Hereti...</a>

&gt; How does his decision fit into the growing debate over the downsides of extreme longevity? How much control do we, and should we, have over our own death?<p>What is considered as normal is defined by what is normally distributed. That which majority chooses. The following video essay explains that<p>Why Living Forever Would (Probably) Be Awful<p><a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;PKsARuqxxQk" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;youtu.be&#x2F;PKsARuqxxQk</a>

It doesn&#x27;t sound like he was a burden on anybody, not in pain himself, and instead was still able to bring joy and insight to other people.<p>Our society definitely keeps people alive--by default--well into cruelty.<p>But this? Too early.