HomeHealthLecture Series Explores Medical, Philosophical and Religious Views of Death

Lecture Series Explores Medical, Philosophical and Religious Views of Death

University of Toledo scholars in philosophy, neurology, neuroscience and religious studies will explore the concept of death and dying through an ongoing lecture series being hosted by the Toledo Lucas County Public Library.

The next topic in the series is on Tuesday, March 26 on “What Makes a Person? Life, Death and the Brain,” featuring Dr. John Sarnecki, associate professor of philosophy and chair of the Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, and Dr. Robert Smith, professor and chair of the Department of Neurosciences and interim chair of the Department of Psychiatry.

Registration is not required, and the events are free and open to the public. Each talk will be 20 minutes in length with the rest of the time allotted for community discussion.


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Dr. Rayan Magsi, a neurology resident at the UToledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences and one of the organizers of the lecture series, said there’s value in bringing together various academic disciplines for a conversation on what is a universal but little-talked-about human experience.

“To really define and understand death, you have to look at different perspectives,” Magsi said. “There are differences in how medicine sees death, how philosophy or religions see death, how the public views death and dying. We hope to explore the differences and similarities through discussions on a topic that is in some ways a social taboo. This gives us an avenue to have these discussions.”

The series will feature more topics on April 2 and April 9 with their topics being on “Brain Death and Coma Survival” and “End of Life Decisions: Ethics and Legalities,” respectively.

For more information go to utoledo.edu.

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