Death is a Statistical Matter

Symposium on the Philosophy of Biology Death is a Statistical Matter Buffalo, NY, USA, Saturday October 14th, 2006 Werner CEUSTERS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics and Life Sciences, and National Center for Biomedical Ontology, University at Buffalo, NY, USA

Referent Tracking ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],For example ‘ John Doe’s liver tumor was treated with RPCI’s irradiation device’ #1 #3 #2 #4 #5 #6 treating person liver tumor clinic device instance-of at t 1 instance-of at t 1 instance-of at t 1 instance-of at t 1 instance-of at t 1 #10 #30 #20 #40 #5 #6 inst-of at t 2 inst-of at t 2 inst-of at t 2 inst-of at t 2 inst-of at t 2

Key question for this presentation ,[object Object],Remind: ‘ referent ’ tracking, not ‘ reverend ’ tracking ,[object Object]

[object Object],[object Object],More precisely ... (1) t ‘ living’ ‘ dying’ ‘ being dead’ ‘ death’

More precisely ... (2) ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

My claim ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Credits to … ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Very good overview of the literature

Death from a population perspective Getting referent tracking right on ‘ death ’ will lead to better mortality and incidence statistics, and more accurate prediction

Occurrence of death: descriptive statistics 10.2 1,587 . . . All other causes 0.4 69 10 Certain conditions originating in the perinatal period 0.5 71 9 Benign neoplasms, carcinoma in situ, and neoplasms of uncertain behavior and of unspecified nature 0.5 74 8 Septicemia 1 149 7 Human immunodeficiency virus infection 1.1 167 6 Pneumonia and influenze 1.3 207 5 Diseases of heart 2.5 395 4 Homicide and legal intervention 2.8 440 3 Malignant neoplasms, including neoplasms of lymphatic and hematopoietic tissues 4.1 633 2 Congenital anomalies 8.5 1,321 . . . All other accidents and adverse effects 5.4 834 . . . Motor vehicle accidents 13.9 2,155 1 Accidents and adverse effects 38.3 5,947 1-4 years All causes Rate per 100,000 Number of Deaths Causes of Death (age 1-4, 1996, preliminary)

Death prediction: People clearly worry about their death ,[object Object],[object Object]

Life expectancies Is there an upper bound ?

A wealth of risk factors, a wealth to track ... ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

“ Death” in the Gene Ontology ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Of course, they mean ‘ activities ’ Sufficient, but hardly necessary. Epistemic problem: how can we ever know ?

‘ Cell death” in the Gene Ontology ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],But if this happens, what is then the result ? Seems more to describe ‘dying’ than ‘death’, or the initiation of a process leading to death

James Bernat’s description of death ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Bernat, James L. “A Defense of the Whole-Brain Concept of Death.” Hastings Center Report. 21. no. 2. (1998) pp. 14-23.

Lawrence Becker’s description of death ,[object Object],Becker, L.C. “Human Being: The Boundaries of the Concept.” Philosophy and Public Affairs. 1975, pp. 353-4.

Problems with these accounts (1) ,[object Object],The President’s Commission for the Study of the Ethical Problems in Medicine, Biomedical and Behavioral Research in their influential 1981 “ A Report of the Medical, Legal and Ethical Issues in the Determination of Death.” p. 76. ,[object Object],David B. Hershenov . “The Definition of Death” . Metaphysics and Medicine Conference

Problems with these accounts (2) ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

David Hershenov’s 1 st proposal ,[object Object],[object Object],David B. Hershenov . “The Definition of Death” . Metaphysics and Medicine Conference

On the meaning of “organism” ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Bernat, James L. “A Defense of the Whole-Brain Concept of Death.” Hastings Center Report. 21. no. 2. (1998) pp. 14-23.

Other accounts on person / organism : 2 notions of “death” required (1) ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Veatch. Transplantation Ethics .

Other accounts on person / organism : 2 notions of “death” required (2) ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Jeff McMahan, The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002)

Death of the person & death of the human ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Jeff McMahan, The Ethics of Killing: Problems at the Margins of Life (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002)

David Hershenov’s 2 nd proposal ,[object Object],[object Object],David B. Hershenov . “The Definition of Death” . Metaphysics and Medicine Conference

Hershenov’s (short) definition ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

But ... ,[object Object],[object Object],1) What then with this guy ? 2) Tells us ‘when’ an entity is dead, but still not ‘what’ is death, i.e., what ontological entity does ‘death’ refer to. 3) Does not address the question whether something that is dead, does still exist.

Death as a boundary ,[object Object],[object Object]

Death as a boundary B. Smith. Fiat Objects

Taxonomy of fiat and bonafide entities B. Smith. Fiat Objects

What type of boundary is ‘ death ’? Inner Outer Fiat Bonafide ? ? ? ?

Key question: when does an organism start and cease to exist ? t father’s sperm cell mother’s ovum zygote morula gastrula fetus person corpse ashes x y z X

Life: the classical view ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Children are not alive ? Patients with total paresis are not alive ? Elderly persons are not alive ?

More recent thoughts ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

“ Life” versus “being alive”/”living” ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

C ausal-dependence account of organism identity ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

A counter-argument to the c ausal-dependence account of organism identity ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Olson, ET (2004) Animalism and the Corpse Problem. Australasian Journal of Philosophy, 82 (2). pp. 265-274.

Death as outer boundary ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Inner temporal boundaries ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],B. Smith. Fiat Objects

Death as an inner boundary ? John being a foetus John being a child John being an adult John being a corpse t John lives John is dead ? John’s ashes X

Death as a fiat or bona fide boundary ? ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],B. Smith. Fiat Objects

The fiat view of biomedicine ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

UK Brain Stem Dead criteria ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Death and death-like situations ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object]

Some neurological tests Charles S. Yanofsky, M.D. BEYOND BIOLOGY: INSIDE THE NEURON http://www.pneuro.com/publications/insidetheneuron /

The fiat view of Cryonics ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Ettinger, Robert. 1965. The Prospect of Immortality . http://www.cryonics.org/contents1.html

‘ The death of one is the life of another one ’ in a new context ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],James J. Hughes . The Future of Death: Cryonics and the Telos of Liberal Individualism JOURNAL OF EVOLUTION AND TECHNOLOGY, Volume 6, July 2001 . http://jetpress.org/volume6/death.html

The ‘ transhumanist project ’ ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Nick Bostrom. Transhumanist Values . Review of Contemporary Philosophy, 2005, Vol. 4, May

Characteristics of Aristotle’s substances ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Smith B, Brogaard B. Sixteen days, J Medicine and Philosophy, 2003;28:45-78.

Examples of substances planet football box of lego blocks aquarium liver cell amoeba virus human being nervous system ice cube

U nified causal system s that are relatively isolated from their s urroundings ,[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],[object Object],Smith B, Brogaard B. Sixteen days, J Medicine and Philosophy, 2003;28:45-78.

[object Object],[object Object]

Death is a Statistical Matter

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Death is a Statistical Matter