Jove
Visualize
Contact Us
JoVE
x logofacebook logolinkedin logoyoutube logo
ABOUT JoVE
OverviewLeadershipBlogJoVE Help Center
AUTHORS
Publishing ProcessEditorial BoardScope & PoliciesPeer ReviewFAQSubmit
LIBRARIANS
TestimonialsSubscriptionsAccessResourcesLibrary Advisory BoardFAQ
RESEARCH
JoVE JournalMethods CollectionsJoVE Encyclopedia of ExperimentsArchive
EDUCATION
JoVE CoreJoVE BusinessJoVE Science EducationJoVE Lab ManualFaculty Resource CenterFaculty Site
Terms & Conditions of Use
Privacy Policy
Policies

Related Experiment Videos

Clarifying the discussion on brain death.

F T Dagi1, R Kaufman

  • 1Medical College of Georgia and the Georgia Institute of Technology, Augusta, Georgia, USA.

The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy
|October 6, 2001
PubMed
Summary

Definitions of death rely on social conventions and community benefit, not just physiological facts. The debate centers on who we should declare dead, extending beyond biological concepts like brain death.

Related Concept Videos

You might also read

Related Articles

Articles linked to this work by shared authors, journal, and citation graph.

Sort by
Same author

Vox Sanguinis International Forum on typing and matching strategies in patients on anti-CD38 monoclonal therapy: summary.

Vox sanguinis·2018
Same author

A multicentred study to validate a consensus bleeding assessment tool developed by the biomedical excellence for safer transfusion collaborative for use in patients with haematological malignancy.

Vox sanguinis·2018
Same author

Defining the concept of 'tick repellency' in veterinary medicine.

Parasitology·2012
Same author

The Physical Status of Underprivileged Boys of New Haven.

The Yale journal of biology and medicine·2011
Same author

Birth defects in the sons and daughters of women who were exposed in utero to diethylstilbestrol (DES).

International journal of andrology·2009
Same author

Effects of gonadectomy and hormone replacement on a spontaneous novel object recognition task in adult male rats.

Hormones and behavior·2008

Area of Science:

  • Medical Ethics
  • Philosophy of Medicine
  • Sociology of Death

Background:

  • Current definitions of death are rooted in subjective societal standards and priorities.
  • These standards prioritize community benefit over individual physiological facts.
  • Existing diagnostic criteria for death are extrinsic, influenced by social conventions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To analyze the subjective nature of death definitions.
  • To explore the influence of social conventions on determining death.
  • To reframe the debate surrounding brain death.

Main Methods:

  • Conceptual analysis of death definitions.
  • Examination of societal standards and their impact on medical practice.
  • Philosophical inquiry into the criteria for declaring death.

Main Results:

  • Death definitions are based on assigned meaning, not objective physiological facts.
  • Societal standards for death diagnosis, while consistent, are externally driven.
  • Differences in death definitions often relate to legitimacy rather than factual discrepancies.

Conclusions:

  • The determination of death is a social construct influenced by community values.
  • The concept of brain death extends beyond purely biological or somatic considerations.
  • The core of the death definition debate lies in 'Whom ought we deem to be dead?'
Keywords:
Analytical ApproachDeath and Euthanasia

Related Experiment Videos