In what ways do the medical, legal, and philosophical definitions of death diverge, and with what consequences?
Project Summary
This project will complete a manuscript about the medical and philosophical aspects of death. The project will also convene an interdisciplinary group of experts to disentangle and potentially reconcile longstanding medical and legal debates about the neurological standard for determining brain death. The research team will be joined by the medical ethicist John Lizza as a Visiting Fellow.
This project continues the work of the Making Progress on Death project by supporting a Visiting Fellowship for John Lizza, who served as the keynote speaker at the earlier project's 2021 conference. During his residency Lizza will continue the work that the research team has been doing with the goal of publishing a book on death and helping to complete a manuscript related to the intersection between medical and philosophical aspects of death. He will be on sabbatical leave from Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, where he is a Professor of Philosophy, during Spring Term 2023 (January – May 2023). His fellowship at the Neubauer Collegium will coincide with the time of his sabbatical leave. The research team is also aspiring to distill particular points of disagreement from the presentations at the 2021 conference, with the further goal of reconvening participants for discussion of those issues in early 2023. The aim is to see if the group can work towards or achieve consensus on any points.
Professor of Neurology; Director, Neuroscience Critical Care; Co-Director Comprehensive Stroke Center
University of Chicago
Fernando Goldenberg, MD, is a specialist in critical care and neurointensive care medicine. He is a member of a multidisciplinary team of experts dedicated to the diagnosis and management of patients with ischemic (low blood flow) and hemorrhagic (blood vessel rupture) stroke and brain aneurysms. ...
Associate Professor of Neurocritical Care, Departments of Neurology and Surgery (Neurosurgery)
University of Chicago
Christos Lazaridis, MD, is a neurointensivist who specializes in advanced monitoring in severe traumatic brain injury. Dr. Lazaridis is also heavily involved in neurocritical care ethics. He has trained in both neurologic and general critical care. Dr. Lazaridis has authored/co-authored over 70 ...
John Lizza (A.B., M.A., Ph.D., Columbia University) is a Professor of Philosophy at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania. His main philosophical interests are in bioethics, metaphysics, and philosophy of mind, particularly issues concerning persons and personal identity. His research has focused on ...
Carolyn and Matthew Bucksbaum Professor of Clinical Medical Ethics; Associate Director, MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics; Co-Director, Institute for Translational Medicine
University of Chicago
Lainie Friedman Ross, MD, PhD, is a frequent lecturer at national and international conferences, where she addresses ethical controversies in medical practice and research. She has written more than 100 research articles on ethical and policy issues in organ transplantation, genetic testing, ...
This working group came together to discuss the biophilosophical justification for the idea that brain death is the end of a human organism as a self-moving whole.
This working group came together to discuss the biophilosophical justification for the idea that brain death is the end of a human organism as a self-moving whole.
