Elucidations

Episode 149: Lainie Ross and Christos Lazaridis talk about defining death


Listen Later

In this episode, we are joined by Lainie Ross (University of Rochester Medical Center) and (once again!) Christos Lazaridis (UChicago Medicine), this time to talk about the different ways of defining death.


In our previous episode with Christos, we talked about death and the vexed history of attempts to define it. Prior to the advent of modern life support technology in the 1950s, it was usually enough to check whether a person had a heartbeat and could breathe to determine whether they were dead. But once machines were invented that could breathe and circulate blood in patients whose lungs or hearts were failing, a new moral conundrum was born: how do you decide whether a medical patient is dead when it is now possible to keep their lungs breathing and their heart beating indefinitely?


In this episode, our distinguished guests talk about the actual criteria that physicians use to determine whether a patient is dead, as well as some possible criteria that no one has tried applying but which some doctors think would be more appropriate. Furthermore, Lainie Ross argues that every person has the right to choose which criteria will be used to determine whether they are dead. These two topics interact in interesting ways.


For example, I might have a strong preference for my doctor to pronounce me dead only if I have permanently lost all consciousness, even if I can still spontaneously breathe. Although we currently have no good method of objectively measuring whether a patient has permanently lost consciousness, Dr. Ross argues that I have the moral right to sign an agreement stating my preferences. Specifically: the agreement could state that if, in the future, the technology for determining whether someone has permanently lost consciousness gets invented, and, at that time, I have permanently lost consciousness, then I should be declared dead. On the flipside, some patients prefer a stricter criterion, often for religious reasons. Perhaps it is my religious belief that if I am breathing, then I should be considered to be alive. Lainie Ross argues that in that case, I have the moral right to sign an agreement stating that that is the criterion that doctors will use on me, in the event that I lose consciousness but am still able to spontaneously breathe.


As of right now, people only have the legal right to sign these types of agrreements in a handful of states in the US. Join us for this episode as Christos Lazaridis and Lainie Ross argue for making this legal right more widespread!

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

ElucidationsBy Matt Teichman

  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9
  • 4.9

4.9

163 ratings


More shows like Elucidations

View all
In Our Time by BBC Radio 4

In Our Time

5,389 Listeners

University of Chicago Human Rights Program Distinguished Lecturer Series by The University of Chicago Human Rights Program

University of Chicago Human Rights Program Distinguished Lecturer Series

1 Listeners

The Latin American Briefing Series by The University of Chicago Center for Latin American Studies

The Latin American Briefing Series

6 Listeners

Philosopher's Zone by ABC listen

Philosopher's Zone

207 Listeners

CHIASMOS: The University of Chicago International and Area Studies Multimedia Outreach Source [video] by The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago

CHIASMOS: The University of Chicago International and Area Studies Multimedia Outreach Source [video]

1 Listeners

CHIASMOS: The University of Chicago International and Area Studies Multimedia Outreach Source [audio] by The Center for International Studies at the University of Chicago

CHIASMOS: The University of Chicago International and Area Studies Multimedia Outreach Source [audio]

5 Listeners

The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Podcast by UChicagoLaw

The University of Chicago Law School Faculty Podcast

48 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,283 Listeners

99% Invisible by Roman Mars

99% Invisible

26,159 Listeners

History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps by Peter Adamson

History of Philosophy Without Any Gaps

1,588 Listeners

Philosophize This! by Stephen West

Philosophize This!

15,093 Listeners

Conversations with Tyler by Mercatus Center at George Mason University

Conversations with Tyler

2,395 Listeners

University of Chicago Booth School of Business Podcast Series by The University of Chicago Booth School of Business

University of Chicago Booth School of Business Podcast Series

6 Listeners

Philosophy For Our Times by IAI

Philosophy For Our Times

304 Listeners

Capitalisn't by University of Chicago Podcast Network

Capitalisn't

526 Listeners

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas by Sean Carroll | Wondery

Sean Carroll's Mindscape: Science, Society, Philosophy, Culture, Arts, and Ideas

4,142 Listeners

Within Reason by Alex J O'Connor

Within Reason

1,547 Listeners

Hard Fork by The New York Times

Hard Fork

5,461 Listeners

The Rest Is History by Goalhanger

The Rest Is History

13,053 Listeners

Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman by Bart Ehrman

Misquoting Jesus with Bart Ehrman

605 Listeners

The Rest Is Politics: Leading by Goalhanger

The Rest Is Politics: Leading

989 Listeners