Posthumous Interests

Legal and Ethical Perspectives

Daniel Sperling author

Format:Paperback

Publisher:Cambridge University Press

Published:17th Feb '11

Currently unavailable, and unfortunately no date known when it will be back

Posthumous Interests cover

The legal status of posthumous interests is analysed in three areas of medico-legal context.

The legal status of posthumous interests is explored and analysed, specifically in three categories of interest arising in the medico-legal context: the proprietary interest in the body of the deceased, the testamentary interest in determining the disposal of one's body after death and the interest in post-mortem confidentiality.Daniel Sperling discusses the legal status of posthumous interests and their possible defeat by actions performed following the death of a person. The author first explores the following questions: Do the dead have interests and/or rights, the defeat of which may constitute harm? What does posthumous harm consist of and when does it occur, if at all? This is followed by a more detailed analysis of three categories of posthumous interests arising in the medico-legal context: the proprietary interest in the body of the deceased, the testamentary interest in determining the disposal of one's body after death and the interest in post-mortem medical confidentiality. Sperling concludes that if we acknowledge the interest in one's symbolic existence and legally protect it, not only do some interests survive a person's death but we should also enjoy a peremptory legal power to shape in advance our symbolic existence after death.

'It is rare to discover a book that is certain to become one of the canonical texts in its area; Daniel Sperling's Posthumous Interests: Legal and Ethical Perspectives is such a rarity.' Metaphilosophy

ISBN: 9780521187664

Dimensions: 229mm x 152mm x 16mm

Weight: 410g

304 pages