The ethical dilemma of deathbed wishes - Sarah Stroud and Michael Vazquez

Key Concepts:

• Promises: Their nature, value, and binding force.
• Interpersonal Expectations: How promises create them.
• Societal Value of Promising: Maintaining trust and fairness.
• Promises to the Dead: Their moral weight and relevance.
• Duress: Promises made under coercion.
• Self-Determination: The right to make one's own choices.
• Rights of the Deceased: Authority over legacy and assets.
• Relational Identity: How relationships shape identity.

I. The Dilemma: Zaina's Promises

• Yvonne and Zaina, a married couple, co-lead a non-profit funded by Yvonne's company.
• Yvonne, on her deathbed, asks Zaina to promise two things:
  • Continue funding the non-profit.
  • Never remarry, a reiteration of a previous pledge.
• Zaina promises to uphold these wishes.
• A decade later, Zaina faces a dilemma:
  • Pharmaceutical companies are close to curing the disease, potentially making the non-profit's research obsolete.
  • Zaina has entered a new relationship and is considering remarriage.
• The central question: Should Zaina continue keeping these promises?

II. Philosophical Perspectives on Promises

• Tim Scanlon: Promises create interpersonal expectations, assuring others of our actions, which they incorporate into their plans.
  • Since Yvonne is deceased, the question arises whether Zaina's decision only affects herself.
• John Rawls and David Hume: Keeping promises preserves the societal value of promising itself.
  • Hume: Promises are tools for signaling trustworthiness; breaking them undermines the practice.
  • Rawls: Keeping promises is a matter of fairness; those who benefit from the social practice should uphold their end of the bargain.
• The video poses the question of whether these social concerns apply to promises made to the dead and whether Zaina's decision should focus more on Yvonne than on abstract societal obligations.

III. Challenges to the Validity of the Promises

• Promises obtained through coercion or deceit are generally considered non-binding.
• Argument: Zaina's promises were made under duress, as it's difficult to refuse a dying spouse.
• Counterargument: Yvonne's wishes were neither threatening nor unreasonable, given their history.

IV. Self-Determination vs. Rights of the Deceased

• John Locke: People have a natural right to self-ownership, limiting external control over their actions.
  • Making a promise doesn't necessarily override this right, especially regarding personal choices like remarriage.
• Counterargument: What about Yvonne's rights? Do they disappear upon death? Does she retain authority over her legacy, relationship, and money?
• Legal codes in many countries protect the assets of the deceased.
• Zaina believes Yvonne would want the funds to go where the need is greatest, potentially justifying redirecting them to other research areas.
• The video raises the question of whether Zaina is justified in updating Yvonne's wishes due to changed circumstances.

V. Relational Identity and the Significance of Marriage

• Natalie Stoljar and Catriona Mackenzie: Identities are constructed through societal relationships.
• Zaina's identity and values are intertwined with her marriage to Yvonne.
• Honoring the marriage and its promises could be a way for Zaina to affirm her own identity.

VI. Conclusion

• The video presents a complex ethical dilemma with no easy answers.
• It explores various philosophical perspectives on the nature and value of promises, the rights of the deceased, and the importance of self-determination and relational identity.
• The video concludes by prompting viewers to consider what they would do in Zaina's position, weighing the competing moral considerations.