Jim Holt

In the following viewpoint, Jim Holt contends that patients in a permanent vegetative state (PVS) confound the definition of brain death. There are two definitions of brain death, he points out: whole-brain death, which is the cessation of all brain functions, and higher-brain death, which is the irreversible end of conscious brain functions. Holt argues that evidence from cases in which people have regained consciousness from comas shows that the cessation of higher-brain functions may not end all of the functions that are normally associated with consciousness. Holt is a writer in New York City.

As you read, consider the following questions:

1. According to Holt, what functions are controlled by the upper brain and by the lower brain"
2. What is the preferred method of euthanizing irreversibly comatose patients, according...