Descartes, Aristotle, and Schiavo

This essay, from Sunday's New York Times, makes for interesting reading.  The essay, "Did Descartes Doom Terri Schiavo," opens with this:

In the parade of faces talking about Terri Schiavo last week, two notable authorities were missing: Aristotle and Descartes. Yet their legacy was there.

Beneath the political maneuvering and legal wrangling, the case re-enacted a clash of ideals that has run through the history of Western thought. And in a way, it's the essential question that has been asked by philosophers since the dawn of human civilization. Is every human life precious, no matter how disabled? Or do human beings have the right to self-determination and to decide when life has value?

Rick