Death is a Biological Phenomenon

Article Sidebar

PDF Full text
Published: Mar 31, 2018
DOI: https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.1173
Keywords:
death life the organism as a whole integrated functioning of the body’s major organ systems irreversible loss of mentation

Main Article Content

Don Marquis
The University of Kansas

Abstract

John Lizza says that to define death well, we must go beyond biological considerations. Death is the absence of life in an entity that was once alive. Biology is the study of life. Therefore, the definition of death should not involve non-biological concerns.

Downloads

Download data is not yet available.

Article Details

How to Cite
Marquis, Don. 2018. “Death Is a Biological Phenomenon”. Diametros 55 (55):20-26. https://doi.org/10.13153/diam.1173.
Issue
No. 55 (2018)
Section
Special Topic – Defining Death: Beyond Biology

By submitting his/her work to the Editorial Board, the author accepts, upon having his/her text recommended for publication, that Diametros applies the Attribution 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0) license to the works we publish. Under this license, authors agree to make articles legally available for reuse, without permission or fees. Anyone may read, download, copy, print, distribute or reuse these articles without asking prior permission from the publisher or the author, as long as the author and original source are properly cited. The author holds the copyright without any other restrictions. Full information about CC-BY: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode.

Author Biography

Don Marquis, The University of Kansas

Don Marquis, Professor Emeritus of PhilosophyThe University of Kansas529 Tennessee St. Lawrence, KS, USA

E-mail: dmarquis@ku.edu

Share |
Crossref
Scopus
Google Scholar
Europe PMC

References

Lizza J.P. (2018), “Defining Death: Beyond Biology,” Diametros 55: 1–19.

Marquis D. (2010), “Are DCD Donors Dead?” Hastings Center Report 40 (3): 24–31.

President's Commission for the Study of Ethical Problems in Medicine and Biomedical and Behavioral Research (1981), Defining Death: A Report on the Medical, Legal and Ethical Issues in the Determination of Death, U.S. Government Printing Office, Washington (DC).

Shewmon D.A. (2001), “The Brain and Somatic Integration: Insights into the Standard Biological Rationale for Equating ‘Brain Death’ with Death,” Journal of Medicine and Philosophy 26 (5): 457–478.

Warren M.A. (1973), “On the Moral and Legal Status of Abortion,” The Monist 57 (1): 43–61.