Death Denied - 863 Words

Winston Churchill once said, â€Å"I am ready to meet my Maker. Whether my Maker is prepared for the ordeal of meeting me is another matter.† Winston Churchill was a funny man, but he has summed up what the majority of the western culture views about death and meeting your maker. The idea of meeting a â€Å"maker† hasn’t always been the most popular of views on death though. Throughout centuries, globally, humans have been changing their views on the idea of death: what it is and where it takes them. As technologies and cultures change, so do the ideas of death along with it. â€Å"Up until around the sixteenth century death was thought to occur when heartbeat and breathing stopped†(Chapter 55). With increasing knowledge about the body and its†¦show more content†¦Homer helped change this idea of death as a journey by explaining â€Å"dreams and death were part of one’s life and were considered as a gift from the Gods†(Katsouda 31). The idea of death as sleep lasted for almost 2000 years. The philosopher Socrates added on to Homer’s rendition of death by believing that death â€Å"has no sensation for the deceased, resembling sleep with no dreams, or transforms and transacts the soul to another better place†(Katsouda 31). The stoics belief then comes into play by stating that death is the separation of the soul from the body. This view was influenced by the Christian religion which is still influential to this day. Our current views on death have been just add-ons from more and more views about death. â€Å"Phillipe Aries has described five dominant patterns of death in contemporary western societies. They are tame death, death of the self, remote and imminent death, death of the other and the invisible death or death denied†(Chapter 56). People who know that they are dying and are not in denial of that fact are experiencing a â€Å"tame death†. â€Å"those dying in hospices and pa lliative care units are more likely to have a tame death†(Chapter 56). Those who frantically worry about what happens after they die and are faced with eternal judgment are usually experiencing the â€Å"death of self.† The â€Å"death of self† typically includes a reflection of allShow MoreRelatedDementia Patients Denied Rights1622 Words   |  7 Pages Dementia Patients’ Denied Rights: Voluntarily Stopping Eating And Drinking Adrienne Heasty County College of Morris â€Æ' The healthcare system places emphasis on involving patients in their plan care throughout the disease or healing process. Nurses and other members of the healthcare team are responsible to ensure that the competent patient has the right to refuse any medical treatment. 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