Medical Ethics at the end of life

Abstract

The seminar offers an overview of problems for end-of-life medical ethics, in particular questions about self-determined dying. The focus is on why people should be able to determine their own deaths.

Objective

In the seminar, these problems will be addressed as philosophical problems. While political and legal questions cannot be completely excluded, they are not central to the organization of the event. At the end of the event, the participants will have: 1. an overview of basic problems and concepts of medical ethics at the end of life, as well as positions on voluntary death. 2. an overview of central ethical theories used in medical ethics. 3. the ability to describe and analyze basic medical ethical problems at the end of life and to take a well-founded position on them.

Content

The success of biomedicine over the past 50 years has confronted physicians and ethicists with new problems. Especially 20th century high-tech medicine has blurred the boundaries between life and death. With the introduction of the brain death criterion, the understanding of death has changed considerably. With the introduction of the brain death criterion, the understanding of when a person is dead has changed considerably. At the same time, advances in hygiene and pharmacology have prolonged peoples' lives. While on the one hand this means that people are gaining in quality of life, on the other hand it also leads to other challenges. The seminar will focus on two aspects. Firstly, it will look at how people behave towards their own end of life, what ideas they have about a good death and how this relates to their ideas of a good life. Secondly, it is about the role of medicine and care at the end of life. How should doctors and nurses behave towards death wishes? What role should patients' advance directives have and what are the limits of what we can determine for our own death?

Resources