Wilkinson Dominic
Oxford Uehiro Centre for Practical Ethics, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
Newborn Care, John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, Oxfordshire, UK.
J Med Ethics. 2020 Nov 27;47(4):218-24. doi: 10.1136/medethics-2020-106937.
Ethical discussions about medical treatment for seriously ill babies or children often focus on the 'value of life' or on 'quality of life' and what that might mean. In this paper, I look at the other side of the coin-on the value of death, and on the quality of dying. In particular, I examine whether there is such a thing as a good way to die, for an infant or an adult, and what that means for medical care. To do that, I call on philosophy and on personal experience. However, I will also make reference to art, poetry and music. That is partly because the topic of mortality has long been reflected on by artists as well as philosophers and ethicists. It is also because, as we will see, there may be some useful parallels to draw.
关于重症婴幼儿或儿童医疗救治的伦理讨论，往往聚焦于“生命的价值”或“生活质量”以及其可能意味着什么。在本文中，我将探讨问题的另一面——死亡的价值以及死亡的质量。具体而言，我将审视对于婴儿或成人来说，是否存在一种善终的方式，以及这对医疗护理意味着什么。为此，我借鉴了哲学和个人经历。不过，我也会提及艺术、诗歌和音乐。部分原因在于，死亡这一主题长期以来一直受到艺术家、哲学家和伦理学家的思考。还因为，正如我们将会看到的，可能存在一些有益的类比可供借鉴。
