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 Concept Videos

Ethical Dilemmas II01:30

Ethical Dilemmas II

1.3K
Resolving an ethical dilemma in healthcare involves a systematic approach that considers every aspect of the issue, respecting both the patient's needs and values and the healthcare professional's ethical obligations. Here are potential steps to resolve an ethical dilemma:
1.3K
Ethical Issues01:27

Ethical Issues

1.2K
Nurses are essential in patient care, upholding the ethical principles of their profession and effectively navigating ethical dilemmas. Neglecting ethical issues can lead to inadequate patient care, compromised therapeutic relationships, and moral distress among healthcare workers.
Ethical Concerns in Healthcare:
1.2K
Kubler Ross's Stages of Dying01:21

Kubler Ross's Stages of Dying

338
Elisabeth Kübler-Ross significantly advanced psychology's understanding of the process of dying with her influential book, On Death and Dying (1969). She focused on studying terminally ill individuals and outlined five stages commonly experienced when coping with death: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and acceptance.
In denial, individuals reject the reality of their condition, often thinking, "This isn't true; I feel fine," as a way to protect themselves from...
338
Continuing Care01:25

Continuing Care

1.6K
Continuing care describes the variety of health, personal, and social services provided over a prolonged period. The need for continuing care is increasing because people are living longer. Many people do not have families or others to care for them. Continuing care is mainly for patients who are disabled, functionally dependent, or suffering from a terminal disease. It is available within institutional settings or in homes. Examples include nursing centers or facilities, assisted living,...
1.6K
Standards of Care II01:19

Standards of Care II

725
Nurses bear specific legal responsibilities under several federal statutes, including:
725
Nursing Ethical Principles II01:27

Nursing Ethical Principles II

1.3K
Ethical principles are essential in guiding nurses to fulfill their responsibilities, focusing on the quality of nursing care and decision-making. These principles, including autonomy, beneficence, non-maleficence, justice, and fidelity, shape the ethical framework within healthcare settings.
Consider the following scenario, which illustrates how these principles are applied in the care of Mr. John, a fifty-year-old teacher diagnosed with metastatic liver cancer.
Initially, Mr. John's...
1.3K

You might also read

Related Articles

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

Sort by
Same author

Epistemic justice and the moral status of the dead.

Theoretical medicine and bioethics·2026
Same author

Response to Commentaries on "Defining Death: towards a Biological and Ethical Synthesis".

The American journal of bioethics : AJOB·2025
Same author

Pain-like isn't pain. Reasserting affective attitudes as the boundary of moral life.

Theoretical medicine and bioethics·2025
Same author

Defining Death: Toward a Biological and Ethical Synthesis.

The American journal of bioethics : AJOB·2024
Same author

Death as the extinction of the source of value: the constructivist theory of death as an irreversible loss of moral status.

Theoretical medicine and bioethics·2024
Same author

Death as the Cessation of an Organism and the Moral Status Alternative.

The Journal of medicine and philosophy·2023

Related Experiment Video

Updated: Sep 13, 2025

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
07:40

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design

Published on: May 31, 2021

3.4K

When does life end? Consensus and controversy in defining death.

Piotr Grzegorz Nowak1

  • 1Institute of Philosophy, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland. piotr.grzegorz.nowak@uj.edu.pl.

Monash Bioethics Review
|August 2, 2025
PubMed
Summary

Bioethicists have debated the definition of death for fifty years without consensus. Recognizing conflicting interests, not just scientific definitions, is key to reaching an agreement that protects societal interests.

Keywords:
Brain deathConflict of interestConsensusDefinition of death

More Related Videos

Establishing a Competing Risk Regression Nomogram Model for Survival Data
04:57

Establishing a Competing Risk Regression Nomogram Model for Survival Data

Published on: October 23, 2020

10.3K
Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
06:42

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Published on: September 28, 2018

11.7K

Related Experiment Videos

Last Updated: Sep 13, 2025

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design
07:40

Validation of a Psychosocial Intervention on Body Image in Older People: An Experimental Design

Published on: May 31, 2021

3.4K
Establishing a Competing Risk Regression Nomogram Model for Survival Data
04:57

Establishing a Competing Risk Regression Nomogram Model for Survival Data

Published on: October 23, 2020

10.3K
Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses
06:42

Continuous Theta Burst Stimulation of the Posterior Medial Frontal Cortex to Experimentally Reduce Ideological Threat Responses

Published on: September 28, 2018

11.7K

Area of Science:

  • Bioethics
  • Medical Ethics
  • Philosophy of Medicine

Background:

  • Over fifty years of debate on the definition of death have yielded no consensus among bioethicists.
  • Disagreements stem from conflicting interests within the bioethics community.
  • The debate is often framed around the scientifically adequate concept of death.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To identify the primary cause of the stalemate in defining death.
  • To propose a strategy for overcoming the impasse and reaching a consensus.
  • To argue that understanding conflicting interests is crucial for progress.

Main Methods:

  • Analysis of the bioethics community's conflicting interests.
  • Identification of the root causes of disagreement on the definition of death.
  • Development of a consensus-building strategy.

Main Results:

  • Conflicting interests, rather than scientific inadequacy, are the primary cause of the stalemate.
  • Recognizing these underlying interests can facilitate agreement.
  • A strategy focused on protecting societal interests is proposed.

Conclusions:

  • The impasse in defining death can be resolved by acknowledging and addressing the diverse interests within bioethics.
  • A socially meaningful definition of death must prioritize the protection of individual societal members' interests.
  • Shifting the focus from purely scientific definitions to stakeholder interests is essential for consensus.