when do you consider someone dead?

Question

When do you consider someone dead? if the person's still thinking but is living off machines is he considered alive?! Define life.

Answer 1

only a Medical DR can declare a person dead. vital signs usually. no pulse, no breathing... no heartbeat...

Answer 2

Someone is dead when they have no pulse, are not breathing and have no brain waves. They might be kept alive by machines, but if the machines are turned off, they will stop breathing.

That said, I think there is a difference between "life" in terms of breathing and a pulse and "life" in terms of being able to be an active participant...even if that activity is limited. I can honestly say that I would not want to be kept on machines indefinitely if there was no chance for my being involved in life.

Answer 3

Here is the definition of life, compiled by me after years of arguments over abortion.

Life of a being (even single cell organisms) is defined as the will to rectify and defend external harmful actions. We can also call this the “immune system”

Suppose you are culturing a group of human cells in laboratory. Try to cut the mass of cells in to half. This group of cells do not show any will or actions to defend or rectify this action and will continue to grow as two separate groups of cells.

Now take an embryo of a being, a few hours old. Try to prick it with a pin. It will immediately start rectification and defensive actions. The defensive actions will be in the form of antibodies and secretions to prevent further damage.

When you take a full grown being, if there is a collective will of the cells of the being to defend against at least one external harmful action against it, it is alive.

Hence regardless of whether the person is thinking or not, if the body respond to diseases/ cuts etc, by various immune system actions such as antigen and antibody creation in blood, swelling and so on the person is alive.

Answer 4

Life support machines can keep the tissues alive and could ultimately allow you to have failing parts replaced so that you can recover, so having your heart stop ie, so pulse, no blood pressure, is not an irreversible condition and therefore not death. Cessation of brain function, however, is irreversible. At least to date, if the brain stops you are done.

Answer 5

life machines just keep your heartbeat beating but not enough support for the brain to work... its good as a dead person if he is in a coma

Answer 6

Dead is when thinking stops in addition to heart-beat reaching (and staying at) zero.

Answer 7

someone is dead when he/she is forgotten by everyone. When no one remembers who they were then they are dead.

Answer 8

It is your way of thinking

Answer 9

he'll be dead only when you and all other will have forgot him!