Ethics and organ donation

"What makes killing wrong?" ask Sinnott-Armstrong and Miller. Not the loss of life or consciousness, but the loss of all remaining abilities. It's an interesting proposition, whose practical consequences they outline with regards to organ donation. I'm somewhat envious of this work, because it deals with fundamental concepts we're all familiar with and situations whose complexities we can all appreciate. Almost anyone could read this paper and appreciate the arguments and conclusions.

Meanwhile, other fields of science continue to pursue knowledge on smaller and smaller scales, at higher and higher levels of precision. As per the oft-used quote (un-attributed, to the best of my knowledge): "you learn more and more about less and less, until you know everything about nothing."