Time and meaning in the void between hope and despair

Dissonance and consonance about death

“…Dominic Wilkinson 1,2,3 In their three thoughtful commentaries on my essay, Prentice, Mahoney and Moore and Lantos reflect on the challenges that I set out: can we make sense of the notion of a good death, and can we use art and music to provide any insights into it? [1][2][3] I was thinking about these questions again while reading this week of yet another UK legal dispute relating to life-sustaining treatment for a child. In January, the High Court heard the case of Pippa Knight, a 5-year-old girl with profound brain injury who is in a persistent vegetative state, and has been ventilated in an intensive care unit for a protracted period.…”

“…Mahoney suggests (and I agree), that 'when I am confident that the child is not suffering, nor experiencing pain or distress… empathy expands my ethical latitude'. 2 However, he goes on to suggest that giving parents time to make meaning does not and should not mean giving them a 'blank cheque' to prolong dying in a 'technologically supported void'. 2 Mahoney's analogy of the blank cheque is particularly apt to the Knight case for two reasons.…”

“…2 However, he goes on to suggest that giving parents time to make meaning does not and should not mean giving them a 'blank cheque' to prolong dying in a 'technologically supported void'. 2 Mahoney's analogy of the blank cheque is particularly apt to the Knight case for two reasons. It is important to give parents discretion about these terrible decisions because they have such profound effects on the parents' lives.…”