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The time of death's badness
1Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden. jens.johansson@filosofi.uu.se
The Journal of Medicine and Philosophy
|October 23, 2012
Summary
Death can be bad for the deceased, but not necessarily at a specific time. This philosophical inquiry into the timing of death
Area of Science:
- Philosophy of Medicine
- Bioethics
- Metaphysics
Background:
- The question of when death is bad for the deceased is central to bioethical debates.
- Existing views categorize the badness of death as occurring either before (priorism) or after (subsequentism) the event.
Purpose of the Study:
- To critically evaluate the temporal claims of priorism and subsequentism regarding the badness of death.
- To explore the viability of atemporalism as an alternative perspective.
- To examine the implications for posthumous harm.
Main Methods:
- Philosophical argumentation and conceptual analysis.
- Critique of existing theories on the timing of death's badness.
- Exploration of alternative temporal frameworks.
Main Results:
- The objection that atemporalism makes death uniquely different from other evils is flawed.
- Priorism and subsequentism encounter significant philosophical challenges that atemporalism avoids.
- Periods spanning before and after death can be considered when assessing its badness.
Conclusions:
- Atemporalism offers a more coherent framework for understanding when death is bad for the deceased.
- The timing of death's badness does not necessitate a specific point in time.
- Rethinking the temporality of death's badness has implications for posthumous harm discussions.
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