1. Consider the medical criteria that have been offered for death. What are the merits and limitations of these definitions for understanding death?
2. Should we regard patients in a permanent vegetative state as alive or dead? What might these cases tell us about the difference between being a person and being a human being?
3. What difference might religious beliefs make for our understanding of what death is and why it matters?
4. Is death a harm? If so, how can a person both be harmed and yet not exist?
5. Discuss and evaluate Epicurus’ view on death.
6. Would immortality be better than mortality? Discuss with reference to Williams.
7. Why is killing morally impermissible?
8. What difference does knowing we are going to die make to the way we should live our lives?
9. Is abortion morally permissible? Explain your answer with reference to Joyce and Thompson.
10. Is euthanasia morally permissible? If so, under what conditions?
11. Is there a moral distinction between active and passive euthanasia? Answer with reference to Steinbock and Rachels.