title: Me and my body: the relevance of the distinction for the difference between withdrawing life support and euthanasia.
abstract: In this paper, I discuss David Shaw's claim that the body of a terminally ill person can be conceived as a kind of life support, akin to an artificial ventilator. I claim that this position rests upon an untenable dualism between the mind and the body. Given that dualism continues to be attractive to some thinkers, I attempt to diagnose the reasons why it continues to be attractive, as well as to demonstrate its incoherence, drawing on some recent work in the philosophy of psychology. I conclude that, if my criticisms are sound, Shaw's attempt to deny the distinction between withdrawal and euthanasia fails.
authors.affiliation: Queensland University of Technology, Australia.
authors.forename: Andrew
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: McGee
mesh_terms: D033101:Euthanasia, Active, Voluntary; D006801:Humans; D008020:Life Support Care; D019222:Mind-Body Relations, Metaphysical; D010684:Philosophy; D028761:Withholding Treatment