Abstract

SIQUEIRA-BATISTA, Rodrigo  and  SCHRAMM, Fermin Roland. Plato's philosophy and the bioethical debate on the end of life: intersections in Public Health. Cad. Saúde Pública [online]. 2004, vol.20, n.3, pp. 855-865. ISSN 0102-311X.  http://dx.doi.org/10.1590/S0102-311X2004000300023.

This article discusses bioethical aspects of medical futility, focusing on some of its intersections in public health. Starting from a demarcation of finitude in the core of the philosophical and bioethical debate on the end of life, we confront the contemporary criticism regarding medical futility with the ideas of Plato (427-347 B.C.), a philosopher who proposed significant considerations on numerous features of the medicine of his time. We thus explore novel theoretic references to guide the disputes related to this essential problem, the implications of which are decisive to health and life.

Keywords : Bioethics; Medical Futility; Death; Public Health.