Unpacking Robert Spaemann’s Philosophical Contribution to the Brain Death Debate

Questions of life and death are primarily philosophical questions, as philosopher Robert Spaemann argues. Spaemann argues that “brain death” is philosophically unsatisfactory as a definition of death, and as the exclusive criterion for determining death, for two main reasons: first, because it attempts to annul the basic perceptions of the ordinary person in regard to death. Second, because the cause of life and unity in a living being cannot be reduced to the brain. This essay is an explication of Spaemann’s contribution to the “brain death” question, which consists in illuminating the philosophical issues at stake.Summary: This article presents Robert Spaemann’s philosophical case that “brain death” suffices neither as a definition of death nor as the sole criterion of death.