Vegetative Quotes
More Vegetative Quotes
I suspect that the vast majority of people, not knowing in advance whether they will either end up in a permanently vegetative state or be diagnosed with cancer, would prefer that any resources that would be spent on PVS care be reallocated to cancer research--or some similar enterprise that has the potential to help human beings who might actually recover.
jacob m. appel— "Rational Rationing vs. Irrational Rationing", The Huffington Post (2010-06-23)
Plato (427-347 B.C.) in his philosophical writings, stressed the inner psychological reality in contrast to the reality of the external world. He believed that the human soul consists of three parts. 1) The rational soul, which resided in the brain. 2) The anima soul, controlling emotions and passions, was located in the chest. 3) The vegetative soul, controlling physiological needs, was located in the abdomen, When dreams occurred in sleep, the irrational soul reasserted themselves.
— p. 23 (A History of Great Ideas in Abnormal Psychology, (1990))
There is a fundamental difference, however, between asking to be permitted to keep a vegetative relative on costly machinery, and asking the taxpayers or society as a whole to pay for such machinery.
jacob m. appel— "Rational Rationing vs. Irrational Rationing", The Huffington Post (2010-06-23)
