「現代における死」への覚書

――脳死・臓器移植をめぐる「ノン・パンセ」――

抄録

In May 2009, when the debate about a bill to amend the Organ Transplantation Act began, 71 university scholars engaged in bioethics education and research, formed a voluntary association named “Seimei-Rinri Kaigi”, and made an urgent appeal for thorough study and deliberation before voting on the amendment. This statement warned of fundamental defects in existing concepts of “brain death” and “organ transplantation”. However, the Diet passed the bill without responding in any way to the appeal.
In this paper, I discuss “non-pensée” over “brain death” and “organ transplantation”, and suggest that it underlies our discourses about death, particularly in the following areas; 1) the confusion between “death” and “standard of death”, 2) the return of “Vernichtung Lebensunwerten Lebens”, 3) the reduction of “ethics” to “law”, 4) the biotechnological public exploitation of our bodies, and 5) the biopolitical aspect of care. I think these are unavoidable themes if we reflect on present discourses about death.