The Last Decision by the World’s Leading Thinker on Decisions

In mid-March 2024, Daniel Kahneman flew from New York to Paris with his partner, Barbara Tversky, to unite with his daughter and her family. They spent days walking around the city, going to museums and the ballet, and savoring soufflés and chocolate mousse. Around March 22, Kahneman, who had turned 90 that month, also started emailing a personal message to several dozen of the people he was closest to.

On March 26, Kahneman left his family and flew to Switzerland. His email explained why: “This is a goodbye letter I am sending friends to tell them that I am on my way to Switzerland, where my life will end on March 27.”

Kahneman was one of the world’s most influential thinkers—a psychologist at Princeton University, winner of the Nobel Prize in economics and author of the international blockbuster “Thinking, Fast and Slow,” first published in 2011. He had spent his long career studying the imperfections and inconsistencies of human decision-making. By most accounts—although not his own—Kahneman was still in reasonably good physical and mental health when he chose to die.

Kahneman was widely mourned nearly a year ago when his death was announced. Only close friends and family knew, though, that it transpired at an assisted-suicide facility in Switzerland. Some are still struggling to come to terms with his decision.

The author of this article, Jason Zweig, worked with Kahneman for years, and this article outlines his experience dealing with assisted suicide of a close friend. 

For more information see Jason Zweig “The Last Decision by the World’s Leading Thinker on Decisions” The Wall Street Journal, March 14, 2025. 

Special thanks to Joel C. Dobris (Professor of Law, UC Davis School of Law) for bringing this article to my attention.