The Ethics of Uncertainty

by L. Syd M. Johnson

2022 · Oxford University Press

This is the first book-length, empirically-informed philosophical treatment of disorders of consciousness. The book puts forward a compelling ethical approach focused on uncertainty, epistemic and ethical risk, and justice. Bioethicist L. Syd M Johnson rejects longstanding ethical dogmas about the significance of consciousness for moral standing and personhood, and provides a new approach to medical decision making in the presence of uncertainty. With applications to medical decisions and beyond, this ethical approach enables surrogate decision makers facing fraught and risky choices to fulfill their obligations as moral and epistemic agents.

Philosophical, Medical, and Legal Controversies About Brain Death

by L. Syd M Johnson

2024 · Cambridge University Press

This Element considers current legal, ethical, metaphysical, and medical controversies concerning brain death. It examines the implicit metaphysical and moral commitments and dualism implied by neurological criteria for death. When these commitments and worldview are not shared by patients and surrogates, they give rise to distrust in healthcare providers and systems, and to injustice, particularly when medicolegal definitions of death are coercively imposed on those who reject them. Ethical obligations to respect persons and patient autonomy, promote patient-centered care, foster and maintain trust, and respond to the demands of justice provide compelling ethical reasons for recognizing reasonable objections. Each section illustrates how seemingly academic debates about brain death have real, on-the-ground implications for patients and their families.