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According to the German philosopher Martin Heidegger,death has two defining characteristics. 3tZC&!x?
First, it can't be outsourced - nobody can die your death for you. The second raises more \W',g[Y:
questions. Heidegger says death can happen at any point, so it's randon. But with advances in '
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genetics, knowing the date of our decease is becoming a real possibility. And is that good? gq +| Hr
Imagine going about your business with your expiry date stamped invisibly on the back of your -? |-ux
hand. You'd probably be spooked by this constant reminder of your mortality. You'd find it 0:SR29(p1
impossible to live. You'd pass your days in envy of those your age who are destined to live longer.
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Alternatively, you could treat the date-stamp as an end date from which to work back. It would %JsCw8C6?
make retirement planning and the gubbins of wills and probate smoother. It would allow you to (Q /Kp*a
take an active part in organising your own funeral. You could even plan your diet: death tomorrow F6$QEiDu@
means an awful lot of jam today. And your loved ones would have the benefit of a steady coming-to- )PNeJ f|@
terms with your passing away. s,*kWy"jp
But Heidegger's point is, even if geneticists, extrapolating from your current condition(s), gave
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you a reliable date of death, they'd fail to account for chance. Just as teenagers can crash their oieZopY A
cars, so pensioners as dit as a fiddle can still fall down the stairs. So what's the lesson? Imagine jwe^(U
you're programmed to die tomorrow, and live today as if it were your last. 6_.K9;Gd
Robert Rowland Smith E7K(I ?
