Death and Dying

2018 ◽  
pp. 203-226
Author(s):  
Philip A. Mackowiak
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
History Of

Chapter 9 (“Death and Dying”) concerns a number of issues related to the end of life: the age-old question of what happens to one after death, the litany of problems encountered in old age, the mixed benefits of defying death, and the long history of assisted dying. These weighty issues and others are addressed in a series of compelling works that celebrate dying in the presence of friends and family, both glorify and demonize death in battle, and question the value of ICU care that suspends patients in a web of tubes and wires simply to create a kind of purgatory between life and death.

Rites of Passage

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Axel Michaels
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Rites Of Passage ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Transformational Process ◽  
Local Contexts ◽  
Vulnerable Community ◽  
History Of ◽  
The Individual

This chapter examines the classical Hindu life-cycle rites, the term saṃskāra and its history, and the main sources (Gṛhyasūtras and Dharma texts). It presents a history of the traditional saṃskāras and variants in local contexts, especially in Nepal. It describes prenatal, birth and childhood, initiation, marriage, old-age, death, and ancestor rituals. Finally, it analyzes the transformational process of these life-cycle rituals in the light of general theories on rites of passage. It proposes, in saṃskāras, man equates himself with the unchangeable and thus seems to counteract the uncertainty of the future, of life and death, since persons are confronted with their finite existence. For evidently every change, whether social or biological, represents a danger for the cohesion of the vulnerable community of the individual and society. These rituals then become an attempt of relegating the effects of nature or of mortality: birth, teething, sexual maturity, reproduction, and dying.

Dreams in Cultural History: Dream Narratives and the History of Subjectivity

2014 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 126-147
Author(s):  
Isabel Richter
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Cultural History ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Source Material ◽  
The Self ◽  
Last Judgment ◽  
History Of ◽  
Dream Narratives ◽  
Close Relatives ◽  
Heterogeneous Source

The article focuses on dreams as sources for European cultural history by showing how subjectivity can be historicized. Basing its analysis on twenty-one published dream narrations of the late eighteenth and the nineteenth century about death and dying, this article examines which versions of the self become recognizable when one faced death, dying, and the end of life. These dream narrations provide insights into individuals' patterns of interpretation in their ambivalent contexts of norms, wishes, ideals, and fears. The dream narrations focus on various topics: dreams and visions of resurrection, the Last Judgment, and deceased close relatives. And some authors also reflect on the themes of life as a shadow and as a dream. Despite the quite heterogeneous source material, all of these dream narrations involve views of the self, for dreams about the end of life, death, and dying are closely related to writers' quests for identity. It shows how dreams work as catalysts for shaping spaces of the self.

scholarly journals Potentiating Death and Governing Uncertain Futures: Guns, Assisted Dying and the Production of Sovereign Subjects

2020 ◽  
Vol 62 (2) ◽  
pp. 394-405
Author(s):  
Bradley Dunseith ◽  
Ari Gandsman
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Personal Autonomy ◽  
Right To Die ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Sense Of Control ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Good For ◽  
Similar Kind

Both gun rights advocates and right-to-die activists shape their moral selves through time in relation to a demand of personal autonomy. Practising autonomy – having a sense of control over one’s own life and death – becomes the principle of the good for both gun advocates and right-to-die activists. Though the ethical aims of both groups could not be more different, both movements produce a similar kind of subject. Whether through guns or end-of-life technologies, the person who has control over death has control over life, resulting in a subject actively working in and through time. However, while right-to-die activists take their own lives into their sovereign hands, gun owners engage with an ethics of time to prove their capacity in deciding who may live and who must die.

‘Just live for today’. Living, caring, ageing and dying

1998 ◽  
Vol 18 (6) ◽  
pp. 673-689 ◽  
Author(s):  
GLENNYS HOWARTH
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Elderly People ◽  
Old Age ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Attitudes To Death

There is an assumption in western societies that death in old age is not only ‘natural’ but also ‘easy’. It is often characterised as death which occurs at the end of life with goals complete. By contrast death in youth is a traumatic and untimely end. This paper draws on interviews with people over the age of 75 to explore the nature of attitudes to death in old age. It focuses on the issues raised by elderly people themselves when given the opportunity to talk about death and dying. In so doing, attitudes to death and dying are separated into ‘death of self’ and ‘death of other’. Each of these categories is then divided thematically according to the issues raised by respondents.

A Matter of Life and Death: Teaching Undergraduates About the End of Life

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (4) ◽  
pp. 443-448
Author(s):  
Philip Lemaster ◽  
Emily Moyer
Keyword(s):  
Young People ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Developmental Process ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
College Classroom ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Aging Populations ◽  
Difficult Subjects

As the population ages, the number of careers that intersect with aging is expected to grow. However, many young people lack an interest in working with aging populations. As previous work has shown, though, students’ interest in aging careers may be stimulated by coursework and experiential activities related to aging. Despite being a normative developmental process, anxiety about death and dying may be particular barriers to students developing interest in aging, and these topics may be particularly difficult subjects to teach in the college classroom. Here, strategies and activities for teaching the end of life are offered.

Issues in death and dying

2021 ◽  
pp. 177-199
Author(s):  
Anna Smajdor ◽  
Jonathan Herring ◽  
Robert Wheeler
Keyword(s):  
Organ Donation ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Ethical Issues ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Ethical Analysis ◽  
Assisted Dying ◽  
Legal Position ◽  
Legal And Ethical Issues

This chapter explores the difficult questions surrounding end of life. It sets out the current legal position on murder, euthanasia and assisted dying. It also explores the ethical debates around the issue. The chapter highlights the thin lines between acts and omissions; and between intention and foresight which are the basis of the current law. It also discusses the principles of autonomy and dignity as principles which some believe should govern the ethical analysis of this area. The chapter also considers the legal and ethical issues concerning organ donation.

scholarly journals Matters of Life and Death: An Experimental Study Investigating Psychological Interventions to Encourage the Readiness for End-of-Life Conversations

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pia von Blanckenburg ◽  
Nico Leppin ◽  
Katharina Nagelschmidt ◽  
Carola Seifart ◽  
Winfried Rief
Keyword(s):  
End Of Life ◽  
Primary Outcome ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Control Group ◽  
Psychological Interventions ◽  
Death Attitudes ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Very High ◽  
Death Acceptance

<b><i>Introduction:</i></b> Talking about death and dying is evoking discomfort in many persons, resulting in avoidance of this topic. However, end-of-life discussions can alleviate distress and uncertainties in both old and young adults, but only a minority uses this option in palliative care. Even in healthy populations, talking about death is often seen as alleviative and worthwhile, but rarely initiated. <b><i>Objective:</i></b> To investigate different psychological interventions (a) encouraging the readiness for end-of-life discussions and (b) changing death attitudes in healthy adults of different ages. <b><i>Methods:</i></b> 168 participants were randomized to four different interventions (IG1: value-based intervention with end-of-life perspective, IG2: motivation-based intervention with end-of-life perspective, IG3: combination of IG1 and IG2, CG: control group). Primary outcome was the readiness to engage in end-of-life topics. Secondary outcomes were fear of death, fear of dying and death acceptance. Assessments took place before, directly after the intervention and at 2 weeks of follow up. <b><i>Results:</i></b> IG2 and IG3 reported significantly more changes in the readiness to engage in end-of-life discussions than the CG (<i>F</i>[5.61, 307] = 4.83, <i>p</i> &#x3c; 0.001, η<i>p</i><sup>2</sup> = 0.081) directly after the intervention. The effect of IG3 remained stable at the follow-up. There were no significant effects of the interventions on end-of-life fears or death acceptance. Acceptability of the interventions was very high. <b><i>Conclusions:</i></b> Short interventions can be useful to encourage end-of-life discussions and could be integrated in health care programs. The efficacy and effectiveness of these short interventions in palliative patients are currently examined.

scholarly journals Stories from the fourth age: autonomy and the lives of older care home residents

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-14
Author(s):  
Lucy V. Pocock ◽  
Fiona MacKichan ◽  
Francesca Deibel ◽  
Anna Mills ◽  
Lesley Wye
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
End Of Life ◽  
Narrative Analysis ◽  
Care Home ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Care Homes ◽  
Life And Death ◽  
Care Home Resident ◽  
Loss Of Autonomy ◽  
Privately Owned

Abstract Transition to a care home often follows a hospital admission and can be distressing. Care home settings play an important role in the care of many people at the end of life. This longitudinal study employed a narrative approach, aiming to explore the perspectives of older care home residents on transitions to, and life and death within, care homes. Five participants, aged 85 years and over, were recruited from two privately owned care homes in the South-West of England. All participants had a diagnosis of an advanced progressive condition (excluding advanced dementia), or were thought to be frail. Longitudinal interviews (19 in total) were conducted over a ten-month period. A structural narrative analysis was performed and participants’ narratives are presented under three headings, with one participant's story chosen to illustrate each narrative type: ‘becoming a care home resident’, ‘living in a care home’ and ‘death and dying’. Findings revealed that care home residents experience a loss of autonomy and a lack of agency; they are often excluded from decision-making. Older care home residents have few choices with regard to care at the end of life. Further work is required to improve transition into care homes, including support and advocacy during decision-making, which often takes place in hospitals at a time of crisis.

Media Psychology and Complex Modes of Entertainment Experiences

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (1) ◽  
pp. 34-38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christoph Klimmt
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Studies ◽  
Terror Management Theory ◽  
Death And Dying ◽  
Terror Management ◽  
Media Psychology ◽  
Mixed Emotions ◽  
Theoretical Perspectives ◽  
Complex Modes ◽  
History Of ◽  
Media Enjoyment

This comment briefly examines the history of entertainment research in media psychology and welcomes the conceptual innovations in the contribution by Oliver and Bartsch (this issue). Theoretical perspectives for improving and expanding the “appreciation” concept in entertainment psychology are outlined. These refer to more systematic links of appreciation to the psychology of mixed emotions, to positive psychology, and to the psychology of death and dying – in particular, to terror management theory. In addition, methodological challenges are discussed that entertainment research faces when appreciation and the experience of “meaning for life” need to be addressed in empirical studies of media enjoyment.

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