I don’t know what the right thing to do in this situation is- because saving lives is very important, but respecting others’ rights is also pretty important.
First, there is no objectively right thing to do. At this point you are expending effort on an essentially selfish goal: saving your mother’s life against her current wishes. Not that “selfish” is in any sense bad or negative. But if you actually cared about saving lives in general, you would apply your effort where it is more likely to pay off. Your current position is no more defensible than hers: you selfishly want her to have a chance to live in some far future with you, she selfishly disregards your wishes and wants to expire when it’s her time. Certainly telling her that her wishes are less valid than yours is not likely to convince her. You can certainly point out that by deciding to forgo cryo she behaves just as selfishly as you do by wanting her to sign for cryo. Maybe then you and her can discuss what “selfish” means to each of you, and maybe have some progress from there. Of course, you should be fully prepared to change your mind and do your best to steelman her arguments. Can you make them better than she does, have her agree and then discuss potential weaknesses in them?
First, there is no objectively right thing to do. At this point you are expending effort on an essentially selfish goal: saving your mother’s life against her current wishes. Not that “selfish” is in any sense bad or negative. But if you actually cared about saving lives in general, you would apply your effort where it is more likely to pay off. Your current position is no more defensible than hers: you selfishly want her to have a chance to live in some far future with you, she selfishly disregards your wishes and wants to expire when it’s her time. Certainly telling her that her wishes are less valid than yours is not likely to convince her. You can certainly point out that by deciding to forgo cryo she behaves just as selfishly as you do by wanting her to sign for cryo. Maybe then you and her can discuss what “selfish” means to each of you, and maybe have some progress from there. Of course, you should be fully prepared to change your mind and do your best to steelman her arguments. Can you make them better than she does, have her agree and then discuss potential weaknesses in them?
I already am. This is in addition to that.
It is definitely a good idea to talk to her about what selfish means, because my mother and I have differing views on what is selfish and what is not.
I’m interested to know what comes out of these discussions and if you guys manage to converge. Keep us posted.