Intellectual Virtues and the Medical Professionals’ Acceptance of Brain Death as Death
Shahram Ahmadi Nasab Emran, M.D., M.A., PhDc., Saint Louis University
Brain death and the neurological criteria for the determination of death has been the subject of vast debates and controversies in the past decades. As a justification of the concept of brain death and the derivative public policy, proponents of brain death have frequently referred to the widespread acceptance of the concept among medical professionals. However, published empirical studies indicate that such a justification is unwarranted. According to the studies, physicians use the neurological standard just as a routine and are generally unable to articulate a coherent justification for it. Physicians’ acceptance of the standard seems to be mainly the result of uncritical adherence to the rules taught during medical education, or simply what Shewmon has called a “professional herd mentality”. Then, drawing on a dynamic account of virtue, I shall explain the observed behavior of physicians as the result of lack of certain epistemic virtues and habits of inquiry, such as intellectual carefulness and inquisitiveness. These and other intellectual virtues have become crucial for medical practice, especially for those professionals dealing with the end-of-life issues. Practice of modern medicine, especially at the extremes of life, necessitates a level of epistemological competency and metaphysical reflection through fostering certain intellectual virtues during medical education. Through formation and emphasis of intellectual virtues, physicians will become more intellectually careful and morally responsible medical professionals.
Brain death and the neurological criteria for the determination of death has been the subject of vast debates and controversies in the past decades. As a justification of the concept of brain death and the derivative public policy, proponents of brain death have frequently referred to the widespread acceptance of the concept among medical professionals. However, published empirical studies indicate that such a justification is unwarranted. According to the studies, physicians use the neurological standard just as a routine and are generally unable to articulate a coherent justification for it. Physicians’ acceptance of the standard seems to be mainly the result of uncritical adherence to the rules taught during medical education, or simply what Shewmon has called a “professional herd mentality”. Then, drawing on a dynamic account of virtue, I shall explain the observed behavior of physicians as the result of lack of certain epistemic virtues and habits of inquiry, such as intellectual carefulness and inquisitiveness. These and other intellectual virtues have become crucial for medical practice, especially for those professionals dealing with the end-of-life issues. Practice of modern medicine, especially at the extremes of life, necessitates a level of epistemological competency and metaphysical reflection through fostering certain intellectual virtues during medical education. Through formation and emphasis of intellectual virtues, physicians will become more intellectually careful and morally responsible medical professionals.