Philosophers’ answer: Four possible answers: When time has come; no wish to live anymore; not worth living; body cannot sustain life
Kerasidou A.
© Athens Medical Society. What does the question “when should a person die?” actually mean? How the verb ‘should’ ought to be understood in this context? In this presentation I start by focusing on the term ‘should’. I argue that the verb ‘should’ can be understood as signifying necessity (logical or natural) or obligation. Based on this primary analysis, I go on to propose four different answers to the question “when should a person die?”: 1) When his/her time has come; 2) when he/she does not wish to live anymore; 3) when his/her life is not worth living; and, 4) when the body cannot sustain life anymore.