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Death, unity, and the brain.

David S Oderberg1

  • 1Department of Philosophy, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AA, UK. d.s.oderberg@reading.ac.uk.

Theoretical Medicine and Bioethics
|April 5, 2019
PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

The dead donor rule permits organ removal only after death. Current death criteria, brain death and circulatory death, are inadequate. Bodily decomposition is the only sure sign of death, allowing for ethical organ donation.

Keywords:
Bodily integrationBrain deathDeathHylemorphismOrgan donation

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Area of Science:

  • Philosophy of Medicine
  • Bioethics
  • Metaphysics

Background:

  • The dead donor rule prohibits organ retrieval from living individuals without consent.
  • Current medical and philosophical definitions of death are debated.
  • Ethical organ donation hinges on accurate determination of death.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate a metaphysically sound and clinically relevant definition of human death.
  • To determine if such a definition could ethically permit organ donation.
  • To critically analyze existing criteria for determining death.

Main Methods:

  • A neo-Aristotelian theory of death is proposed, defining death as the separation of the soul (organizing principle) from the body.
  • This theory is elaborated as the loss of organismic integrity.
  • Empirical and metaphysical inadequacies of brain death and circulatory death criteria are examined.

Main Results:

  • Brain death and circulatory death criteria are found to be both empirically and metaphysically insufficient.
  • These criteria lack significant epistemic value as definitions of death.
  • A significant mismatch exists between the metaphysical nature of death and current clinical/philosophical criteria.

Conclusions:

  • Only actual bodily decomposition serves as a definitive sign of human death.
  • Current criteria for determining death are inadequate for ethical organ donation.
  • A revised understanding of death is necessary to reconcile medical practice with philosophical accuracy.