The Theory Is The Selfish Gene Theory

In "What is Death? The Crisis of Criteria" Louis Pojman introduced four definitions of death and describes their benefits and limitations. The four definitions include loss of the soul, cardiopulmonary failure, whole brain death and neocortical brain death, of which the cardiopulmonary is typically most common. I intend to show, using the work of Jonathan Glover and reasoning, that the neocortical brain death definition holds significant merit and is truly more practical and ethical.

Life expectancy in the human race has risen dramatically in the past century reaching its highest level for both male and female on record. Between 1981 and 2002 life expectancy at age 50 increases by four and a half years for men and three years for women and two years respectively. By 2002 women who were age of 65 could expect to live to the age of 84 while men could expect to live to the age of 81.

On a living will, an individual can express if they would prefer not to be resuscitated or if they don’t want to be living artificially on life-support. Additionally, living wills establish a written declaration of a power of attorney, establishing a person who may legally speak on behalf of a patient who is unable to do so. Living wills are crucial pieces of documentation that are necessary for the dignity and wishes of a person who may fall unexpectedly into a life-threatening condition. If a person does not wish to live artificially on life support, a living will may be the only documentation that can secure their right to die with what they choose to be a dignified death. Unfortunately, living wills are not too common, resulting in countless Americans whose lives are extended long after they wish to live. In order to get a living will, one can either hire an attorney and have the attorney draft a living will or there are templates available that can be filled out and submitted for notarization.

With the help of technology, humans are easily able to defend themselves from animals they see, while around one million years ago, many humans died easily to the abundant predators ruling the world. Today, humans also have less ways to die. Back then, people could die easily from being starved, being mauled by animals, and being killed by other human tribes. Today, with law enforcement and abundance in supplies these ways to die are very rare. On million years ago, hunter-gatherers died at an average age of thirty-years-old, but today, humans mostly died at age seventy-two. Because technology is expected to advance, so will life expectancy.

Contrary there are some faults to that could come into play with a living will. For instance in the state of Michigan it is not required for a living will to be enforced legally so in the end you wants might not even come into consideration. Another fact is that a physician can decide what is deemed necessary under certain circumstances and go against your wishes not to be resuscitated. Given the circumstances your family members might not agree with you giving up the right the life for the sake of their finical security. Terri Schiavo's family never gave up on her and would have been content to take care of her for the rest of her life. In the advent that a person does not have a living will in place one of your close relatives would be instated to make health care decisions for you. Which is not necessarily a bad thing, but it might not be entirely what you

Physician-assisted suicide is defined as the practice where a physician provides a patient with a lethal dose of medication, upon the patient's request, which the patient desires to use to end his or her life. The Harvard Medical School conferred that we are "dead" when there is permanent loss of consciousness in the higher brain, even though one may not be flat lined.

Traditionally death was defined with the heart-lung criterion which referred to cardio-respiratory death. The lower brain is what controls respiration therefore the destruction of the brainstem causes loss of all cardio-respiratory vital signs and so death ensues. In 1981, a new definition arose which was labelled as Whole Brain Death. It is defined as an individual being declared dead, despite continuing functional vital signs. (Pojman, pp. 102) There is no consciousness, no control of brainstem reflexes, and a loss of cognitive functions. The individual’s survival is dependent on artificial mechanisms that are provided by doctors. This newer definition was created due to modern technology being able to revive someone who is cardio-respiratory

The living will is a formal legal document that must be written and signed by the patient, it will describe the type of medical treatment the person would want or would not want in these situations. An attempt to prolong life should be started or stopped. This applies to treatments such as dialysis, tube feedings, or artificial life support. A power of attorney for health care is also called a health care power of attorney. It’s a legal document in which you name a person to be your proxy (agent) to make all your health care decisions if you become unable to do so. Your proxy or agent can speak with doctors and other caregivers on your behalf and make decisions according to directions you gave earlier. The person you chose decides which treatments

In Richard Dawkins the Selfish Gene Chapter 2 Dawkins explains his theory on the origin of life. He talks about an experiment in which chemists tried to imitate the chemical conditions of the young earth using water, carbon dioxide, methane, and ammonia to test their reaction in chemical conditions of the young earth. After a few weeks they had found that amino acids had been found. Dawkins theory is that these reactions could have occurred naturally in earth's oceans and start to form replicators or a cell that creates a copy of itself which would eventually cause evolution to the first organisms.

Euthanasia is the painless killing for a patient that is suffering from an incurable, painful disease, or in an irreversible coma. This is legal in 5 states in the United States of America including, Washington, Oregon, Colorado, and Vermont.

Sooner or later every person on this Earth will die. Some sooner or later than others but no one is entitled to escape death. Hear in America death is a topic people would want to avoid because people want to live and not think of their last days. For low income areas a lot of infants pass away at birth and half of those infants born at birth do not live to see age 13. The reason for this number is because their biggest support system are family and friends close by. These people are not as lucky as the average modern american who can see a doctor. These people are use to seeing death on a regular basis. Modern society can have a better outcome on their life expectancy. These people are able to get access to the tools and resources they need

Living Wills, sometimes called Advanced Directives, are legal documents accepted in all 50 states. They clearly define a person’s wish to decline life-support or medical treatment in certain circumstances, usually when death is imminent. Generally, a living will takes effect when a person becomes terminally ill, permanently unconscious or conscious with irreversible brain damage.

The Right to die, also known as Euthanasia, refers to various issues related to the decision of whether an individual should be allowed to choose to die when the other option is for him or her to continue living with the aid of life support, or in a diminished or handicapped state. It also refers to the idea that a person with a terminal illness should be allowed to commit suicide before death occurs or should have the right to refuse to have his or her life extended by artificial or heroic means. Such actions may be done by withdrawing feeding tubes and other artificial means of life support from a terminally ill person. The concept of the right to die is often referred to as dying with dignity. Therefore, when a patient is forced to undergo any sort of serious treatment, any decision regarding their care can be revealed ahead of time by executing a living will or a Do Not Resuscitate (DNR) order. Usually patients exercising the right to die will have also made explicit their wish to receive only palliative care to reduce pain and suffering. The existence of the right to die is encompassed and protected by the Fourteenth Amendment which grants the personal choice, made by a mentally competent, terminally ill adult to commit physician-assisted suicide and therefore, should be upheld as a law of the United States of America.

In our day and age as we know it, there have been astounding advancements in medicine. The average life expectancy has risen. People are being educated in issues that surround a healthy life style. As a society, we are trying to increase our life span and defeat death. While people are following strict

Most people die sooner than they should because of genetic predisposition (30%), behavioral patterns (40%), and social/environmental conditions (20%).