PHIL 1165 Chapter Notes - Chapter 3: Morphine, Best Interests, Organ Donation
1 Oct 2017
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Traditionally: death=cardiopulmonary; when heart and lungs don"t function. Technology prolonged heartbeat and respiration after brain. Increased interest in organ transplants stops functioning. Whole-brain standard of death: death occurs when whole brain stops functioning. Shewmon: brain doesn"t control all of organism death of brain is. Halevy: death is a process, not a single event. Higher-brain standard of death (veatch): death = loss of cognitive capacity (personhood) Accepted by professional guidelines and major religions. Medical futility: when a patient"s condition is untreatable (only palliative ways) Vitalism: preservation of life at any cost. Ordinary/obligatory/proportionate reasonable chance for success, benefits. Who makes medical futility judgements? outweigh burdens burdens outweigh benefits. Doctors: empirical judgement, knows likely effectiveness for treatments. Gampel: no professional autonomy because determination of futility requires value judgements (from patient/family) Use advance directives/living wills, if none, then patients values. Life is better than death physical/mental disabilities and parental objection. Robertson: extreme disability= exception to principle of equal.
