Let’s begin with an inconvenient question: What if the right to live doesn’t mean the obligation to stay alive? It’s a simple question, yet one that touches on the core of many of our deepest fears, values, and assumptions. Most of us are used to thinking about life as inherently sacred, survival as paramount, and

The Philosopher Muse presents Dr. Esther Braun with the golden laurel wreath for her outstanding work as an academic and champion of justice and liberty, thereby bestowing upon her the title ‘Our Lady of Liberty’ to be cherished and honored for time immemorial. Our Lady of Liberty—Upon thy head I place the laurel crown,Forged in

As societies move toward recognizing the right to die as a legitimate extension of personal autonomy, the challenge lies in establishing ethical and practical systems that both empower individuals and protect the public good. While the core principle behind self-directed dying is respect for individual agency, it must be balanced with policies that ensure competence,

Now let’s explore what it may look like for people to actually die with honor, dignity, and peace—particularly for mature, healthy, and competent persons who are resolved to depart. By justice, liberty, and human dignity, such individuals ought to have access to safe and responsible options for departure—without facing excessive barriers from the medical system—if

“So long as you are a slave to the opinions of the many, you have not yet approached freedom or tasted its nectar. Whatever you do or avoid, let it be guided not by public approval or blame, but by reason, the divine spark within.” — Julian the Apostate One of the most fundamental reasons

“In the case of depressive realism, the philosophical pessimism most closely associated with Schopenhauer may be its natural home.” —Colin Feltham They move along the street with blank faces, eyes forward, minds elsewhere. Shadows stretch long behind them, and the fading light casts everything in a sickly pallor. It’s not fear exactly—more like a quiet