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Xavier Symons

Xavier is a bioethicist and Director of the Plunkett Centre for Ethics at the Australian Catholic University. His research interests include ethical issues at the beginning and end of life, conscientious objection, ethical issues in aged care, and the philosophy of well-being. He has been a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Human Flourishing Program at Harvard and holds degrees from the University of Sydney, the University of Oxford, and the Australian Catholic University.

death

What Is Death? A Response to Christopher Tollefsen 

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I agree with Professor Tollefsen that we should seek a morally consistent approach to organ donation, and one that does not involve intentional killing. I also agree that this leads us to the conclusion that existing criteria for ethical organ donation after cardiac death are untenable. These patients don’t seem to be dead in any metaphysical sense and so it is difficult to say that the Dead Donor Rule is being respected in these cases.  
Elon Musk

The Radical Deficiency of Elon Musk’s Pronatalism 

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At some point we have to be honest about what makes life truly good. Landing on Mars may be an incredible feat, but it is only love and the pursuit of meaningful communion with others that makes such an endeavor worthwhile in the first place.
United Healthcare

Luigi Mangione’s Apologists Are Undermining the Pursuit of Social Justice

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What will bring about lasting reform in healthcare is not violent political protest but a revolution at the heart of healthcare whereby we rediscover its connection to the common good.
Pregnancy ultrasound

Embryo Screening and the New Eugenics

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Genetic screening of embryos allows prospective parents to select embryos for IVF based on the absence of disease and disability as well as the possession of desirable traits. Human life, however, ought to be received graciously rather than rejected or accepted based on our preferences or risk appetite.
end of life

Flourishing at the End of Life

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Dying is part of life, but most people dread their final days. The end of life, which often takes the form of protracted terminal illness, can involve significant pain and suffering as well as functional limits in day-to-day living. Is it still possible for human beings to flourish at the end of life?
Memento Mori painting by William Michael Harnett

The End of the Pandemic

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Perhaps the end of the pandemic is not a matter of eliminating COVID-19 but rather coming to terms with our own mortality. We need to learn how to survive and thrive in the pandemic, even as we try to mitigate the effects of the virus. For guidance, we can turn to Tolstoy’s Ivan Ilyich, who was delivered from his anxious, tormented bondage by conquering his fear of death and adopting selfless concern for others.