Against the biological account of death

Julian Kanu has recently defended a pro-life perspective on abortion by arguing for a novel theory of the badness of death called the biological account of death (BAD). BAD is a deprivationist account similar to Jeff McMahan's time relative interest account (TRIA). Kanu argues that BAD explains our intuitions about the badness of death as well as TRIA, except in one special case regarding a comatose infant. In this case, BAD accommodates our intuition that such an infant would be seriously harmed by death, but TRIA does not. All else being equal, BAD is a better theory than TRIA. I argue that not all is equal between the two theories; TRIA accommodates intuitions that BAD cannot, and there is reason to doubt our intuitions regarding the comatose infant.

Authors

Institutions

Publication Details

Journal
Journal of Medical Ethics
Published
2025-12-04
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1136/jme-2025-111572
Primary Topic
Organ Donation and Transplantation
Type
article
Field-Weighted Citation Impact
0.00
Controls
|||
ALL TIME
JAN
FEB
MAR
APR
MAY
JUN
JUL
AUG
SEP
OCT
article

Against the biological account of death

LF TAYLOR
Journal of Medical Ethics
Organ Donation and Transplantation
article

Against the biological account of death

LF TAYLOR
article en

Abstract

Julian Kanu has recently defended a pro-life perspective on abortion by arguing for a novel theory of the badness of death called the biological account of death (BAD). BAD is a deprivationist account similar to Jeff McMahan's time relative interest account (TRIA). Kanu argues that BAD explains our intuitions about the badness of death as well as TRIA, except in one special case regarding a comatose infant. In this case, BAD accommodates our intuition that such an infant would be seriously harmed by death, but TRIA does not. All else being equal, BAD is a better theory than TRIA. I argue that not all is equal between the two theories; TRIA accommodates intuitions that BAD cannot, and there is reason to doubt our intuitions regarding the comatose infant.

Journal of Medical Ethics
Princeton University (US)
Openalex Percentile: Top 51%
Organ Donation and Transplantation
AI Navigator

Ask Laika to Summarize, Analyze, and Connect papers live on the map.

Summarize Papers & Methodologies

Extract key findings, datasets, and comparative methods across publications.

Benchmark Rankings & Visual Analytics

Rank top research institutions, authors, funders, topics, and journals by Field-Weighted Citation Impact (FWCI) and paper volume with instant charts.

Connect Distant Disciplines

Bridge topological clusters on the map to find hidden collaborative intersections.