Two Philosophical Deaths: Hume and Hitchens

This essay describes the deaths of David Hume (1711-1776) and Christopher Hitchens (1949-2012). Both distinguished thinkers and writers, who shared much in their world views, died around the same age after a similarly prolonged course of terminal illness. However, the great difference in the power of medicine to intervene with the goal of cure or preserving life made their lives while facing death dramatically different. The narratives of these two deaths help shed light on some of the key features that make particular deaths and the processes of dying good or bad, as well as highlight the difficulty in achieving a good death in the world of contemporary medicine.