In recent decades death has garnered considerable philosophical attention in three principal areas: medical ethics, value theory, and metaphysics.

In medical ethics, interest has centered on determining the criterion of death. The most common criterion for the death of human beings is irreversible loss of consciousness, but this postulate remains controversial for those who see humans principally as animals rather than as conscious beings. A human animal may be said to be alive even if he or she is not conscious. The meaning of "irreversibility" is also controversial. Would Jane Doe be dead if she lost consciousness but her consciousness could be recovered if she were injected with a serum that will not be invented for another thousand years? Medical ethicists have also debated the relevance of the principle of double effect regarding situations in which a doctor is the cause of death. Followers of the...