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SCIENCE SPEAKEASY: RATIONAL SUICIDE IN AN AGEING SOCIETY

@ Life Science Centre

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Rational Suicide in an ageing society: stagger to the grave or call it quits early?

Life expectancy has increased dramatically in the last century, but we’ve fared worse in conquering ageing – we are living longer and dying slower, with many spending years or even decades in serious ill-health. Is it time that society embraced rational suicide for the elderly as a viable endgame plan?

This event is part of the Science Speakeasy programme – a series in which important and often controversial topics are debated in a relaxed cabaret-style setting, all while sipping cocktails mixed by The Alchemist.* No question or statement is taboo, so these events are not suitable for anyone who is easily offended!

Meet the panellists

• Dr Julian Baggini – Academic Director of the Royal Institute of Philosophy and author of numerous books, most recently How the World Thinks: A Global History of Philosophy.
• Professor Anne Karpf – Professor of Life Writing and Culture at London Metropolitan University and author of How to Age, which explores our tendency to undervalue the older generation.
• Dr Naomi Richards – A social anthropologist based at the University of Glasgow whose research focuses on the ways people anticipate dying and what it’s like to die in an age of austerity.
• Dr Simon Woods – Executive Director of PEALS. His early career in palliative care inspired an interest in the ethical issues that surround end-of-life decisions.

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