Symmetry Between Life and Death Medical Ethics Example | Topics and Well Written Essays

Symmetry Between Life and Death - Essay Example

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"Symmetry Between Life and Death" is a wonderful example of a paper on medical ethics. The possibility of asymmetry that exists between the concept of life and death has generated hot debates throughout the world. According to Veatch (2003), there is a neurological endpoint of human life. Because of this fact, there is a neurological starting point of life. Because death has been signified by the death of the brain, then the beginning of life should be signified by the birth of the brain. Veatch (2003) tries to explain the beginning of life by applying symmetry between the processes at the beginning and end of life.

The symmetry dictates that life begins when a person gains consciousness. This is because, on the other hand, life ends when a person’s brain stops functioning and hence loses consciousness. However, up to today, the stage at which the brain is fully developed is not known. Various biologists have argued different gestation periods at which an infant’s brain is fully developed and hence the beginning of its life. Therefore, it is difficult to determine when an infant’s life begins, and hence when it should be considered as a living human being. Thus, it is subject to the natural principles of human life.

However, the existence of this symmetry has been challenged. According to Jones (1998), development of the brain can be compared to its degeneration. Brain development is a biological growth phenomenon that takes time while brain degeneration refers to the loss of brain stem functions that takes a short time. From real-life experience, a person’s heart continues beating even after he or she has been declared dead. It only stops beating when the body organs lack oxygen. Therefore, the notion of brain death as the end-point of life is still open to discussion. In conclusion, the existence of symmetry between the beginning and end of life has no ethical significance and less biological evidence.