Brain Death: A Conclusion in Search of a Justification

Area of Science:

• Medical Ethics
• Neuroscience
• Philosophy of Medicine

Background:

• The concept of brain death emerged in 1968, not from a coherent definition, but as a socially useful construct.
• Early proponents viewed death as a social construct, allowing society to define it as it saw fit.

Purpose of the Study:

• To critically examine the mainstream concept of brain death.
• To argue that equating brain death with death involves multiple levels of incoherence.

Main Methods:

• Philosophical analysis of the concept, criterion, and tests for death.
• Examination of the historical development of the brain death definition.
• Critique of the "permanent cessation of functioning of the organism as a whole" concept.

Main Results:

• The initial proposal for brain death lacked a reasoned basis for equating "irreversible coma" with death.
• The widely adopted "permanent cessation of functioning of the organism as a whole" concept remains tenuously justified.
• Significant incoherence exists between the concept of brain death, its criteria, diagnostic tests, and clinical practice.

Conclusions:

• Equating brain death with death is philosophically and practically incoherent.
• The definition and application of brain death require re-evaluation to address inherent inconsistencies.
• Further discourse is needed to reconcile the theoretical concept of brain death with its real-world implementation.