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According to the German philosopher Martin Heidegger,death has two defining characteristics. >AVVEv18
First, it can't be outsourced - nobody can die your death for you. The second raises more
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questions. Heidegger says death can happen at any point, so it's randon. But with advances in Xe$ I7iKD
genetics, knowing the date of our decease is becoming a real possibility. And is that good? RRmz"j>
Imagine going about your business with your expiry date stamped invisibly on the back of your J!c)s!`w
hand. You'd probably be spooked by this constant reminder of your mortality. You'd find it (}Z@R#njH
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 #.rdQ,)<
make retirement planning and the gubbins of wills and probate smoother. It would allow you to 4Jp:x"w
take an active part in organising your own funeral. You could even plan your diet: death tomorrow U#lCj0iUt,
means an awful lot of jam today. And your loved ones would have the benefit of a steady coming-to- X{5vX
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terms with your passing away. yA)/Q
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But Heidegger's point is, even if geneticists, extrapolating from your current condition(s), gave Bt@^+vH ~
you a reliable date of death, they'd fail to account for chance. Just as teenagers can crash their cpL7 !>^=
cars, so pensioners as dit as a fiddle can still fall down the stairs. So what's the lesson? Imagine X <f8, n
you're programmed to die tomorrow, and live today as if it were your last. _K]_
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Robert Rowland Smith ]<ldWL
