Personal Identity as a Principle of Biomedical Ethics [Paperback]

This book brings together the debate concerning personal identity (in metaphysics) and central topics in biomedical ethics (conception of birth and death; autonomy, living wills and paternalism). Based on a metaphysical account of personal identity in the sense of persistence and conditions for human beings, conceptions for beginning of life, and death are developed. Based on a biographical account of personality, normative questions concerning autonomy, euthanasia, living wills and medical paternalism are dealt with. By these means the book shows that personal identity has different meanings which have to be distinguished so that human persistence and personality can be used to deal with central questions in biomedical ethics.Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Human persistence.- Chapter 3: The beginning of life.- Chapter 4: Death.- Chapter 5: Personality and autonomy.- Chapter 6: Dying autonomously.- Chapter 7: Extended autonomy.- Chapter 8: Medical paternalism.- Chapter 9: The interlacing of persistence and personality.

Michael Quante (1962) is full professor of practical philosophy in the department of philosophy at the Westf?lische Wilhelms-University. He is Speaker of the Centrum f?r Bioethik and Co-Editor of the Hegel Studien. His areas of specialization include German idealism, theory of action, personal identity, ethics and biomedical ethics. Books (in English): Hegels Concept of Action (Cambridge University Press 2004, pbk. 2007), Enabling Social Europe (Springer 2005; co-authored with Bernd v. Maydell et al.), Discovering, Reflecting and Balancing Values: Ethical Management in Vocational Education Training (Hampp 2014; co-authored with Martin B?scher), Interdisciplinary Research and Trans-Disciplinary Validity Claims (Springer 2015; co-authored with Carl F. Gethmann et al.),Hegels Phenomenology of Spirit (Cambridge University Press 2008, pbk. 2010, co-edited with Dean Mol£²