This week I sat in the front row of a class and started chatting with the student next to me. We got along pretty well and engaged in a bit of small talk before and during the class. Toward the end we got to talking about some bioethics issues, and he said, “you can’t control life and death.” At first I thought, “why bother,” and considered not saying anything that might risk the amiability of a new acquaintance. Then my second thought (which I went with): “of course you can. I could kill you, which clearly shows I can control death.” I might also have pointed out a number of germane examples, including that in the case of human life, we routinely control the creation of that life by having sex. The question of ability (can or can’t) is thereby quickly and clearly resolved. What he probably meant to say was that one doesn’t have the right, or perhaps shouldn’t, control life or death- but that is a separate question. Clearly,... Read the rest of this entry »