Dying with Dignity: Science and Religion in the Face of Suffering

In care for the terminally ill and severely disabled, the most impressive achievements of modern medical science meet our deepest human concerns about how to handle suffering, what happens when we die, and what it means to live a good life. Cases that cannot be cured pose special ethical and philosophical questions: Should we strive to minimize suffering, even by acting to shorten life? Is there value even in lives afflicted by great and irremediable pain? What role should religion play in personal decisions, patient care, and public policy? And how should we all live in light of our common vulnerability to suffering, disability, and death? 

Join us for an evening of conversation with medical anthropologist Mara Buchbinder (UNC-Chapel Hill) and theologian John Swinton (University of Aberdeen) as we explore the meaning of mortality.