抄録
Arguing about the criteria for the brain-death diagnosis or the conditions for switching off the life supporting system, bioethics has dealt with the person who is dying or has just died. However, it rarely pays attention to or talks about the dead. Why doesn't bioethics talk about the dead, especially about the dead after the funeral? It is a kind of talking about the dead to say, e.g. "According to the deeds of living people, the significance of the life of the dead increases or decreases." This talk may seem to enter into the bioethical arguments when, e.g. we assert the utility of embryo-stem cells to justify the research of embryo-stem cells. However, on reflection, it turns out that it cannot enter into the context of justification of killing living things. The context where it can occur is that of recovering from the traumas of having been obliged to kill an embryo, fetus or dying person. Finally, some philosophical difficulties concerning talking about the dead are brought under review.
