Would You Rather Die Young Or Old

OKCLane

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I’m already to old to die young so I guess that’s my vote. So much of life is about how we respond to adversity, not the adversity itself. Coming from a medical background I’ve been privileged to meet young people who were destined for a short life but whose exuberance for each day, painful as it might be, was inspiring.
 

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I’m already to old to die young so I guess that’s my vote. So much of life is about how we respond to adversity, not the adversity itself. Coming from a medical background I’ve been privileged to meet young people who were destined for a short life but whose exuberance for each day, painful as it might be, was inspiring.

Ditto
 

Cecil56

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I'll be 65 in January and health is the main issue. Bad knee's and I'm not able to hunt or fish anymore.
It scares me every morning, just getting into the shower with the chance of falling.

I'm about ready to cash it in, but keep working. Dementia also runs in my family.

At this point, I feel working and keeping my brain thinking is my best option.
Time on my hand's and nothing to do, would probably be in a bar and end up being a drunk. Just for something to do.
 
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malakos

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Young but fulfilled. Spending life in discontentment and resentment sounds like a waste of time. Having it extended over several decades sounds miserable.
 
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seventiesdemon

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There are many more things o life than short and sweet. I reckon if I were a 1,000 year old tree, I'd see more of life on the planet changing and passing by than in 80 years. Unless some developer comes along to build a shopping centre....or a parking lot...
 
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seventiesdemon

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Neither... immortality is what I'd truly be after and wish for ^_~:heart_eyes:o_O
Very little escapes this globe. Been burning coal for centuries. So am pretty certain we all have a little Dino DNA going on from millions of years ago...........perhaps why we struggle to get to the next rung on the ladder.
 

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Young but fulfilled. Spending life in discontentment and resentment sounds like a waste of time. Having it extended over several decades sounds miserable.
Hi @malakos - I like your many posts and am asking out of curiosity and not nit picking or trying to pick a fight.
Your preference is for a short and fulfilling life and I’m not questioning your choice.
But then you shift to a life of discontentment and resentment and “seem” to equate it to a long life. I’m sure that I’m misreading your post.
Can’t a long life be fulfilling?
My apologies if I’m putting you on the spot as that’s not my intention.
 
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OKCLane

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Young but fulfilled... Pretty rare don't ya think?
Sorta like saying... rich but don't have to work
I’m not attempting to answer for @malakos but I wouldn’t say that young and fulfilled is rare.
As I stated in an earlier post, I worked in the medical field, specifically pediatrics. I was honored to meet young people who were destined for a short life. They were brilliant and funny and lived with an exuberance and passion that humbled me. I attended and spoke at more funerals than I’d care to remember. I would argue that they all lived fulfilling or fulfilled lives.
A fulfilled life is not one characterized by length or bank account.
Your post was fun and perhaps tongue-in-cheek so I’m sorry if I’ve spoken out of turn.
 
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malakos

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Hi @malakos - I like your many posts and am asking out of curiosity and not nit picking or trying to pick a fight.

Hello again. :D

But then you shift to a life of discontentment and resentment and “seem” to equate it to a long life. I’m sure that I’m misreading your post.
Can’t a long life be fulfilling?
My apologies if I’m putting you on the spot as that’s not my intention.

A life probably can be relatively long and also fulfilling. I think that would be the ideal kind of life to have.

A source of confusion here may be interpretative approach. I feel like a lot of other replies were more free and open in their interpretation. In my response, I tried to stick more to precisely what the OP said. This is typically the way I prefer to communicate.

The OP involved a deliberation between two options, indicated by the form "would you rather... or..."

One of the options was "a short fulfilled life". That's presented in a fairly straightforward way.

The way the other option was put was "live a long life even if your not happy". I italicized part of it, because it is what I honed in on, and informed the way I responded in a way particularly relevant to what you're wondering about.

If we ignore that aspect of the option, we're left with a choice between a short, fulfilled life, and a long life of unspecified quality. This leaves open the possibility of the long life also being fulfilling.

I see this as missing what the OP was trying to get at. I think the OP was trying to present a tough dilemma that tests what one's priorities are. In this case, the choice is between longevity or quality of experience. If we allow for the long life to also possibly be fulfilled, it would seem to me to undermine the intent of the dilemma.

Now, returning to the italicized element, I believe this indicates that the OP was specifically trying to present the other option as one of a long life that was yet overall discontented. Interpreting it this way seems to clarify the function of the dilemma. It's a choice between a life lived briefly but brilliantly, versus a long life lived as if in the dreary, discontentedness of Limbo, at best.

Taking this to be the intent of the dilemma, the choice is an easy one for me. Life does have some inherent worth to me. I may still go through with the long dreary life, if the alternative were simply not living. But quality of life is a very weighty consideration for me, and so if I were given the option of just a few more years lived gloriously, versus 6 more decades lived in a certainly dreary and miserable way, I'm fairly sure I would choose the former.
 

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I take care of my 90 year old mom. I can tell you she is not having fun at all. Three hospital stays since mid September and I have to put food in her mouth now to get her to eat.

Not that I would facilitate an expedited departure from this world but I think I would like to go before I hit 90.
 
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Bigcockman1

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Dogs are put to sleep when they get very old because they're suffering and unhappy. When a human gets very old theyre either alone in their own house or put in a home for the elderly. I don't condone assisted suicide I'm just saying people seems to be more compassionate towards animals when they reach a certain age.
 
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malakos

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Dogs are put to sleep when they get very old because they're suffering and unhappy. When a human gets very old theyre either alone in their own house or put in a home for the elderly. I don't condone assisted suicide I'm just saying people seems to be more compassionate towards animals when they reach a certain age.

It isn't a difference of compassionateness. It's just that we're not simply entitled to make that decision for another human like we are with our pets. What goes on in that decision for a human is far more complicated than for putting an animal to sleep. With humans there is the big question of whether it's ethical for us to forfeit our lives. Another huge consideration is personal autonomy and the right to self-determination. The latter muddies the waters of whether we can ever be the rightful decision makers for another human, of whether their life should be ended because of (perceived) suffering. And with regard to suffering, we have to determine whether we have the ability to measure the suffering of another, and the person's relationship to his/her suffering, to judge whether he/she wishes to continue living or not. Many of us are not comfortable with assuming we have the ability to judge that.

With an animal, if it looks miserable, then it probably is, and there likely is not the possible mitigating/redeeming element that there is with humans. Humans are often able to rationalize and find meaning in their life despite suffering, and/or to allow certain joys to redeem the suffering and make it worth continuing with living for a time.
 
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brandon38

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I take care of my 90 year old mom. I can tell you she is not having fun at all. Three hospital stays since mid September and I have to put food in her mouth now to get her to eat.

Not that I would facilitate an expedited departure from this world but I think I would like to go before I hit 90.
Been there with my parents I like go before I get very bad myself.