Paper short abstract:

What we consider moral in relation to death is directly influenced by temporality. Time influences decisions in context of the event; and over time influences our perspective of it. The way we integrate death into our life story reveals how we see ourselves as moral beings.

Paper long abstract:

Family members dealing with end of life medical decisions for or with their loved one undertake a peculiar form of moral reasoning different to everyday moral reasoning. It is different because death is an ethical conundrum in which any decision provides only a temporary solution. Thus, time is central to the experience and to choice. Death evokes deep moral questions of right and wrong within the context of unfamiliar clinical settings and protocol, uncertain time frames and particular family dynamics. Temporality, therefore, is a fundamental element in end of life decision making. First, the perceived dying trajectory has a direct influence on the types of decisions that can be made. This moral reasoning process draws on balancing questions of quality of life and quantity of time left. Temporality also has another important influence. Over time, the narrative recollection of events reveals how individuals involved define a good death in relation to their values and thus how they perceive themselves as moral beings. How we reason our way to 'good' decisions for end of life care is part of our ethical work, but how we re-tell this event reveals how we see or want to be seen as moral. Thus, the manner in which we integrate death into our life story reveals our moral being.