This book brings together the debate concerning personal identity (in metaphysics) and central topics in biomedical ethics (conception of birth and death; autonomy, living wills and paternalism). Based on a metaphysical account of personal identity in the sense of persistence and conditions for human beings, conceptions for beginning of life, and death are developed. Based on a biographical account of personality, normative questions concerning autonomy, euthanasia, living wills and medical paternalism are dealt with. By these means the book shows that ¿personal identity¿ has different meanings which have to be distinguished so that human persistence and personality can be used to deal with central questions in biomedical ethics.

Michael Quante (1962) is full professor of practical philosophy in the department of philosophy at the Westfälische Wilhelms-University. He is Speaker of the Centrum für Bioethik and Co-Editor of the Hegel Studien. His areas of specialization include German idealism, theory of action, personal identity, ethics and biomedical ethics. Books (in English): Hegel's Concept of Action (Cambridge University Press 2004, pbk. 2007), Enabling Social Europe (Springer 2005; co-authored with Bernd v. Maydell et al.), Discovering, Reflecting and Balancing Values: Ethical Management in Vocational Education Training (Hampp 2014; co-authored with Martin Büscher), Interdisciplinary Research and Trans-Disciplinary Validity Claims (Springer 2015; co-authored with Carl F. Gethmann et al.),Hegel's Phenomenology of Spirit (Cambridge University Press 2008, pbk. 2010, co-edited with Dean Moyar), Moral Realism (Helsinki 2004 (= Acta Filosofica Fennica Vol. 76), co-edited with Jussi Kotkavirta) and Pragmatic Idealism (Rodopi 1998, co-edited with Axel Wüstehube). Books (in German): Die Wirklichkeit des Geistes (Suhrkamp 2011), Menschenwürde und Personale Autonomie (Meiner 2010, 2nd ed. 2014), Karl Marx: Ökonomisch-Philosophische Manuskripte (Suhrkamp 2009, 2n ed. 2015), Person (De Gruyter 2007, 2nd ed. 2012), Einführung in die Allgemeine Ethik (Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft 2003, 5th ed. 2013), Personales Leben und menschlicher Tod (Suhrkamp 2002), Ethik der Organtransplantation (Harald Fischer Verlag 2000, co-authored with Johann S. Ach & Michael Anderheiden), Hegels Begriff der Handlung (frommann-holzboog 1993), Marx Handbuch (Metzler 2015, co-edited with David Schweikard), Geschichte - Gesellschaft - Geltung (Meiner 2016, as editor).

Chapter 1: Introduction.- Chapter 2: Human persistence.- Chapter 3: The beginning of life.- Chapter 4: Death.- Chapter 5: Personality and autonomy.- Chapter 6: Dying autonomously.- Chapter 7: Extended autonomy.- Chapter 8: Medical paternalism.- Chapter 9: The interlacing of persistence and personality.