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SudokuLegendDefinition

Page history last edited by PBworks 18 years ago

Joe Knittel

Kem Crimmins

Definition of Death

02/13/2006

 


 

What is “death?” One thing is clear, the word death invokes melancholic thoughts. Death brings up memories of a lost family member, friend, or even pet. But what does the term actually mean; when does one die? Death is defined very loosely which leaves the door wide open for discrepancies about what the word actually means. Human death is defined as a union between three inherently different domains: biological death, legal death, and religious death (“Death”, sec. 2). Throughout the world, people vehemently disagree as to what domain boasts the most importance in defining human death. Biological death and legal death are the most commonly accepted definitions of human death. Thousands of people, however, believe that religion also plays an important role in determining when someone has died. I propose the definition of human death to be based entirely upon one of the three overlapping domains which currently define the term, biological death.

 

In defining human death explicitly as biological death, any previous disagreements relating to death will virtually be quashed. If human death were to be defined in terms of biology, an identified and universally accepted realm of knowledge, one will find counter arguing the definition very difficult if not entirely impossible. Science is proven; there simply exists no gray area, thus making science the ultimate basis for validation. Among other reasons, science’s universality provides a common ground for everyone in understanding what death really is and when human death occurs. Generating a more precise definition will have bountiful benefits.

 

Death plays an important part in our lives; we fear death and will do anything to avoid it. Dr. Calixto Machado, Head of the Department of Clinical Neurophysiology at the Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery at Havana, Cuba, explains that, “For many centuries people were deemed dead when they stopped breathing and when their hearts stopped beating.” Currently, irreversible loss of brain function defines biological death. If, for hundreds of years, we thought that someone died when he stopped breathing and when his heart stopped beating, then how can we be sure that our current assumptions are accurate? We cannot. The only way to truly realize what death is and when it occurs is through more precise observations. A clear definition of death will allow us to more deeply examine a dying person and observe the point in time when his life has ended.

 

An accurate definition of death would assist physicians in various ways. Knowing exactly when a patient has lost all ability to survive will come in very handy to medical doctors. The physicians will not have to worry about trying one more process to help save the patient’s life. This knowledge of exact time of death will help make doctors much more effective in their quest to save lives. They can move onto the next patient and put forward their best attempts to save him. A more in-depth knowledge of what human death is allows doctors to research what exactly causes the body to completely stop functioning. We already have a broad knowledge of the causes of death, but maybe there is something bigger that we are missing. Wikipedia states that heart disease, cancer, and stroke are among the leading causes of death in the United States (sec. 6). Maybe there is a link between each of the causes of death. Finding this link would have extraordinary advantages.

 

Among the most important benefits gained from learning the exact time of death is the ability to harvest fresh organs for transplant. Over the last few decades, transplantation has gained prevalence in the United States and across the globe. Since the discovery that a deceased person’s organs can be transplanted into an ailing person with similar body type and blood type, doctors have saved thousands of lives. The fact that so many people’s lives have been saved through transplantation makes the process ever so important. In order to accomplish a successful transplantation however, organs must come from a very recently deceased person. This makes establishing the time of the donor’s death essential. A more accurate definition of death would allow doctors the ability to identify the exact time of death and make the transplantation process much more efficient.

 

Certainly, in claiming that death should be defined strictly in terms of science, I am not without an opposition. Several religions including Hinduism and Buddhism believe that the death of someone is not the end of his life (Valea 1). People who practice these religions believe that death is simply a temporary cessation of physical activity, that their souls will eventually return to Earth and they will be reborn as another physical being. Religious leaders and fellow members of these faiths simply do not have tangible proof that one’s soul can be reincarnated. When someone dies, his body rots and eventually decays to nothing and becomes part of the Earth. Once the body is completely absorbed into the planet, it lacks shape and form and is essentially inexistent. This proves that biological death is an accurate definition of human death. Once one dies, he no longer exists and never will again.

 

Many individuals believe that someone is not dead until he is declared legally dead. Someone can be pronounced legally dead in three ways. Most commonly, a doctor declares someone to be legally dead. However, a coroner and the courts also have the ability to state that someone has legally died (“Death”, sec. 2). This method of determining death can be very inaccurate. Most importantly, legal death is determined almost always by a single person. If the person proclaiming the patient to be dead does not have accurate information pertaining to the status of the patient, he has the ability to falsely declare the patient dead. This method of defining death simply does not stack up to science. Biologically, one can be found dead simply by the destruction of a few cubic centimeters of tissue of the brain (Ganapathy 1).

 

Death can be defined more precisely by relating it entirely to biological death. With an explicit definition of death, numerous benefits would emerge. Doctors would be able to more competently deal with patients. The transplantation process would also become much more efficient. Although many people believe that death should be defined as religious death or legal death, biological death more effectively defines human death due to the universal understanding of science.

 


 

Works Cited

 

 

"Death." Wikipedia. 05 Feb. 2006 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death>.

 

Ganapathy, K. "Brain Death and Organ Donors." 06 Feb. 2006

<http://www.thamburaj.com/brain_death.htm>.

 

Machado, Calixto, M.D., Ph.D. "A New Definition of Death Based on the Basic

Mechanisms of Consciousness Generation in Human Beings." Network for the

Definition of Death. Institute of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Havana, Cuba. 05

Feb. 2006. <http://www.changesurfer.com/BD/Papers/Calixto1.html>

 

Valea, Ernest. "Reincarnation." World Religions: Comparative Analysis. 2005. 06 Feb.

2006 <http://www.comparativereligion.com/reincarnation.html>.

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