Deconstructing the Brain Disconnection–Brain Death Analogy and Clarifying the Rationale for the Neurological Criterion of Death

Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 41 (3):279-299 (2016)
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Abstract

This article explains the problems with Alan Shewmon’s critique of brain death as a valid sign of human death, beginning with a critical examination of his analogy between brain death and severe spinal cord injury. The article then goes on to assess his broader argument against the necessity of the brain for adult human organismal integration, arguing that he fails to translate correctly from biological to metaphysical claims. Finally, on the basis of a deeper metaphysical analysis, I offer a revised rationale for the validity of the neurological criterion of human death

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Melissa Moschella
Catholic University of America

References found in this work

Summa Theologica.Thomasn D. Aquinas - 1273 - Hayes Barton Press. Edited by Steven M. Cahn.
Summa Contra Gentiles.Thomas Aquinas - 1975 - University of Notre Dame Press.
Hylomorphism.Mark Johnston - 2006 - Journal of Philosophy 103 (12):652-698.
Constitution is not identity.Mark Johnston - 1992 - Mind 101 (401):89-106.

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