Essay Archive - The Concept of Death
The Concept of Death
Is a human alive who has only his vegetative functions and no consciousness of his being? Is not a patient virtually dead who has no brain activity whatsoever? And if he is in irreversible coma, can his organs be removed for transplantation into a conscious body? These questions and even more vexing ones have recently raised a host of legal, ethical, moral, and religious considerations that require resolution.
Ideas about what constitutes death vary with different cultures and in different epochs. In Western societies, death h....
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