PHI 2396 Lecture Notes - Lecture 14: Asymptotic Curve, Biomedical Technology, Brainstem
16 Dec 2017
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They"re not taken from the actual dead: organs are still viable and not dead, they"re basically still alive. Lack of brain activity - higher and lower brain activity. There"s a difference between a living body and a live person . Personhood seems to be when you have a mind, a sense of self, consciousness. Once you"ve lost your personhood, you"re not really alive anymore - you"re just a body. Vegetative state: when all body function may or may not be active, but there is no higher brain function. Pulling the plug on them if they are considered alive is murder. But there is no such thing as murdering a corpse. A corpse is something that can be breathing on its own or with a machine, but has no higher brain function. Developments in biomedical technology have given now ways to keep the body alive, almost inde nitely, causing us to re ect anew on the meaning of death.
