Beliefs, Values and Morals: The Philosophical Underpinnings of Dysthanasia

Abstract

In medical practice, the treatment and prognosis in the end of life has associated to ethical dilemmas, which are established in conformity with individual or collective beliefs and values. Dysthanasia from Greek, means to make death difficult, and it is currently an ethical problem with significant consequences. Considering that death itself has two moments, the process of death and the moment of death, dysthanasia is the undue prolongation of the process of death with the help of technological devices that allows the life sustaining procedures. Although it is through the technological advances that the moment of death can be delayed, it is the beliefs and values that are deep rooted in the sub conscience of the physicians that are responsible for the demeanor of end of life ethical dilemmas. Beliefs and values when encompassed in areas like phenomenology of knowledge, dialectic of technology, conflict of values and existentialism and metaphysics, can somehow explain this issue that is current, emerging and compelling.