Determination of death: Metaphysical and biomedical discourse

Publication date: Available online 30 June 2016 Source:Medicina Author(s): Irayda Jakušovaitė, Žydrunė Luneckaitė, Eimantas Peičius, Živilė Bagdonaitė, Olga Riklikienė, Edgaras Stankevičius The prominence of biomedical criteria relying on brain death reduces the impact of metaphysical, anthropological, psychosocial, cultural, religious, and legal aspects disclosing the real value and essence of human life. The aim of this literature review is to discuss metaphysical and biomedical approaches toward death and their complimentary relationship in the determination of death. A critical appraisal of theoretical and scientific evidence and legal documents supported analytical discourse. In the metaphysical discourse of death, two main questions about what human death is and how to determine the fact of death clearly separate the ontological and epistemological aspects of death. During the 20th century, various understandings of human death distinguished two different approaches toward the human: the human is a subject of activities or a subject of the human being. Extinction of the difference between the entities and the being, emphasized as rational–logical instrumentation, is not sufficient to understand death thoroughly. Biological criteria of death are associated with biological features and irreversible loss of certain cognitive capabilities. Debating on the question “Does a brain death mean death of a human being?” two approaches are consideri...
Source: Medicina - Category: Journals (General) Source Type: research