The NYT ran this very sad and moving story the other day: a couple married a half-century, the husband devoted to his wife, even as Alzheimer's robs her of her sense of self and knowledge of her own family; he refuses help from his adult daughters, who are the main source for the story; finally, diagnosed (unbeknowst to his daughters) with metastatic cancers, the husband kills his wife and then himself. The story provoked this reaction from Twitter's resident feminist philosopher. I leave it for readers to ponder (and they might find interesting some of the Twitter pushback here from philosophers Michael Ostuka [LSE] and Lisa Shapiro [Simon Fraser], among others).
(Thanks to several readers who shared both the original story and this striking Twitter response.)
UPDATE: From a philosopher elsewhere: "Well, I guess one could argue both sides of the case, but interpreting the story in terms of himpathy does not seem especially enriching. If all one has is a hammer...."
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