A Fate Worse Than Death? The Well-Being of Patients Diagnosed as Vegetative With Covert Awareness

Patients in the vegetative state are wholly unaware of themselves, or their surroundings. However, a minority of patients diagnosed as vegetative are actually aware. What is the well-being of these patients? How are their lives going, for them? It has been argued that on a reasonable conception of w...

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Κύριος συγγραφέας: Graham, Mackenzie (Συγγραφέας)
Τύπος μέσου: Ηλεκτρονική πηγή Άρθρο
Γλώσσα:Αγγλικά
Έλεγχος διαθεσιμότητας: HBZ Gateway
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Fernleihe:Fernleihe für die Fachinformationsdienste
Έκδοση: Springer Science + Business Media B. V [2017]
Στο/Στη: Ethical theory and moral practice
Έτος: 2017, Τόμος: 20, Τεύχος: 5, Σελίδες: 1005-1020
Σημειογραφίες IxTheo:NBE Ανθρωπολογία
NCH Ιατρική Ηθική 
VA Φιλοσοφία
Άλλες λέξεις-κλειδιά:B disorders of consciousness
B Well-being
B prudential interests
B neuroimaging
B vegetative state
Διαθέσιμο Online: Πιθανολογούμενα δωρεάν πρόσβαση
Volltext (Verlag)
Volltext (doi)
Περιγραφή
Σύνοψη:Patients in the vegetative state are wholly unaware of themselves, or their surroundings. However, a minority of patients diagnosed as vegetative are actually aware. What is the well-being of these patients? How are their lives going, for them? It has been argued that on a reasonable conception of well-being, these patients are faring so poorly that it may be in their best interests not to continue existing. I argue against this claim. Standard conceptions of well-being do not clearly support the conclusion that these patients would be better off having life-sustaining treatment withdrawn, and in fact, it may be possible for these patients to retain a passable level of well-being. I suggest that further research into the subjective experiences of these patients will allow us to better promote their well-being.
ISSN:1572-8447
Περιλαμβάνει:Enthalten in: Ethical theory and moral practice
Persistent identifiers:DOI: 10.1007/s10677-017-9836-8