The subject of death has elicited various debates across different cultures. Ideally, death is treated as one of the most personal and biological happenings and for that reason the wide area of death and dying creates a counterintuitive and therefore an appealing scenario to determine the rational legitimacy of sociology. Over the years, sociologists have pointed out repeatedly that each society produces its own suicide rate that relies on how people are assimilated and regulated. What this sociological viewpoint implies is that the idea of committing suicide has deep cultural origins that can be explored. In recent years, sociologists have tried to test their own theories concerning death and dying by gauging the society’s attitudes concerning the subject (Gire, 2002). This paper explores the viewpoint of various sections of the society regarding death and dying as well as the sociological theories that are available concerning the issue.

The Concept of Death

Over the years, sociologists have tried to get formal acceptance by conducting studies on the subject of death and dying. In the 1950’s, researchers declared the field of death and dying abandoned and yielding no fruit but this scenario changed in the early years of the 1960’s when various researchers undertook a study that sought to establish the relationship between dying patients and health care providers in several hospitals around the United States. These studies were critical since the attention that they created brought to light the wide gap that was existent between the living and individuals that were presumed to be on the verge of death. This was a time when doctors were not even willing to disclose to patients about the severity of their ailments. Research has repeatedly indicated that most patients were only rewarded with silence in their attempts to find out about the nature of sickness that they were suffering from. However, the attempt of researchers to uncover the issue together with an active social movement that was bent on introducing a human side to modern dying led to renewed interest of this rather important subject. This led to the publication of various books touching on the subject of death and dying. This interest had instant results in that it changed among other things how terminally ill patients were notified about the diagnosis of their ailments and served as a model for future research (Anspach, 2003).

Interviews on the Societal Perspective on Death and Dying

            The concept of death and dying is viewed differently in different cultures. While dying is a universal happening in nearly every society, it is interesting to note that each community treats the issue differently from other communities. In the olden days, death was closely connected to birth and the birth of a child was a rather conscious reminder of the presence of death. At the late as the last part of the 19^th century, some people believed that the birth of a child heralded the presence of death and therefore the birth of a child was seen as a doorway for the death of a family member for that particular community. However, the contrast between the two occasions is that people are excited about the birth of a child, but they are often reluctant to discuss about death. Ideally, although most people do not seem to think about death, they are actually afraid of it (Maynard, 2003).

In an attempt to establish how the previous generation perceived death and dying, I conducted an interview with an elderly member of our community who was born in the early part of the 20^th century. After interviewing him, I realized that people are not supposed to think about their own death. Even though the senior member of the society that I interviewed is without a doubt in the last part of his life, I realized that he could not think about his own death to the extent where he had refused to write his last will and testament since he believes that doing so would be akin to hastening his own death. Apparently, this is the belief that dominated people’s thoughts in the last century. Even though dying was and remains a natural part of human life, it is seen as a mystery (Kentz, 2014).

Over the last thirty years, there have been numerous technological advancements that have led to the improvement of the quality of life. Most of these advancements have led to a scenario where people can be added even more days when they are clearly on the verge of death. While this can be lauded as a positive contribution into the history of science, it is nonetheless a clear indication of how people are scared of death. This fear has led to the development of a technology that can delay death for some time. In order to determine how people in the modern society perceive the subject of death and dying, I asked one of my closest friends how he felt about death. While he thought that he was too young to die, he admitted that he was always conscious of something bad happening to his parents or siblings. When I asked him if he supported the idea of using like support machines to elongate the life of a family member who was obviously going to die, he stated that he could adopt that approach as long as it guaranteed that the loved one would be around for longer even if he/she was in a vegetative state. What this means is that death for many people is something that must be resisted since it marks the end of the human life as we know it. Wherever an individual in the society dies, people see such an individual as having lost their battle to death. Although most people are religious, it is clear that most people do not prescribe to the school of thought that there is another life after death, and this explains why people invest much of their resources in bettering the quality of their lives and coming up with mechanisms that can elongate their lives (Suarez, 2014).

The ideas that I have established from other people did not surprise me since they are very close to my own ideas regarding death and dying. For a long time, I have seen death as something that has to be feared and resisted. If a family member or a close friend was faced with a severe illness that would threaten their lives, I would make every effort to look for a way that they could get treatment from their ailment. If such treatment failed to be effective, I would not mind if such a loved one was put in a life support machine as long as they are around me. To me, death is something that should not be discussed openly since it might lead to my own death. Just like my friend, I have always seen death as the end of human life and for that reason I should work hard to fulfil all my assignments before death. At times I have seen death as a sort of punishment that God places on his disobedient subjects and hence my endeavor to live a straightforward life at all times (Self, 2014).

From my research, I have also established that the misguided concept regarding death and dying is no more different among the professionals. In trying to complete this term paper, I asked a nurse in one of the influential hospitals how she would treat someone who openly identified/communicated with the dead either in her place of worship or in the hospital where she worked. From the interview, the nurse told me that she would treat such an individual with suspicion and would not even want to be assigned to such a patient. While the nurse is trained to act professionally, she stated that she would be afraid of someone who communicated with the dead either openly or in secret. Her admission was a clear indication that professional training did very little to erase the beliefs that people have on death and dying. People in the modern society are still afraid of death as this nurse notified me that she would not want to be assigned to a patient who was on the verge of death (Prandelli, 2014).

Although the West is in every aspect a modernized society, there are still many individuals who treat death as a very significant endeavor. This leads them to try and do everything within their power to be with the individual during his/last days on earth. Ideally, such individuals believe that the point of death is the most critical of an individual’s life, and every attempt should therefore be made to ensure that a connection is made between the departing soul and the living. Although the concept of modernity has dulled the beliefs of most people about life after death, many communities both in the west and in developing nations still hold on to the belief about life after death. Nearly all the world’s major religions promote the doctrine of life after death. In order to develop a sense of hope, even those individuals who are not necessarily religious still ascribe to the concept of life after death. While death is seen as a transition to another life, many people are rather skeptical about the existence of such a life, and hence the extreme fear about death in the society (Suarez, 2014).

In most cases, the concepts that people hold about life after death do not have any genesis. Instead, such beliefs are founded on the cultural concept of the eternal nature of the soul. In most societies, people continue to pay their respects to the departed soul years after the person has died in the belief that the person’s spirit would help them in their time of need. Today, it is not hard to see individuals offering prayers to their long departed ancestors since they believe that they are watching over their affairs. In some communities, there is belief that a dead person’s spirit is ever present, something that leads to the reverence of such an individual. This explains the reason why people try to create a link between the living and the dead in the form of mausoleums or holding on to items that remind them of the dead person. This belief is mostly passed on to the younger generations, and this explains why most people in the modern society are more conservative when it comes to the idea of letting their loved ones to die (Prandelli, 2014).

Although the subject of death and dying still remains mysterious, researchers have come up with studies geared towards realizing how dying and death take place. According to some research, when people are on the verge of death they demonstrate some traits, which are nearly universal. The researchers point out that comprehending such traits is critical since it makes it possible for the family members to ready themselves for the impending death. Research has repeatedly indicated that people who are about to die experience altered mood and make unusual requests to those around them. An individual who is about to die also becomes more withdrawn and meditative and a loss of interest for the affairs of those around him (American Psychological Association, 2014).

Explaining Death and Immortality

In recent years, much emphasis has been placed on institutional death management which deals with addressing the physiological facets of dying by applying medical technologies to increase the length of life or to hasten death if there is sufficient evidence that an individual is not likely to recover from a disease. Although there are numerous myths that are associated with death and dying, medical personnel are not supposed to align themselves with such beliefs, but they are instead supposed to stick to a medically acceptable notion of dying and apply the same to the family (American Psychological Association, 2014). In most literature, the dying ideals depend largely on how the death is expected, the duration it takes before dying as well as the resources and the sickness process. In most hospitals, the normative ideals that trigger action are in most cases focused in ensuring that the institutional routines are not disturbed (Armstrong, 2006).

In most hospitals, there is a lack of consensus on the issue of death mostly due to the varying opinions of clinicians as well as diverse staff cultures. In addition to this, there is the issue of patients who resist death while others are too willing to die. There is also the issue of relatives who abandon patients who are on the verge of death while others work hard to prevent the death of their loved ones. While death is inevitable, any death that deviates from the societal expectations is often met with suspicions of medical error and may be followed with litigations if the family members are aggrieved. However, there is no clear government position on such matters and if the patient’s family is disengaged on such a matter the staff is usually let off the hook. This means that death and dying still remain private issues that not even the government wants to get involved in (Carr, 2012).

Apart from institutionalized dying, the modern societies have also been placing much emphasis on methods of trying to explain death for the purpose of avoiding early death and to lengthen human life. Central among the actions in this area have been conducting autopsies as well as authorizing organ transplants. This field has also included stem cell research that is meant to give a new lease of life to human beings. While people were initially against the conduction of autopsies, this number has been rising steadily over the last few years. While autopsies were initially only restricted to medical research, this has changed and individuals are now taking a keen interest on this field all with the aim of understanding the cause of death for their loved ones. In recent years, the request for autopsies has reduced significantly as hospitals have been working hard to ensure that they do everything possible to avoid patient deaths for fear of litigation. This has left the forensic as the only area where autopsies are conducted mostly to resolve homicide cases (Bradshaw, 2007).

Although autopsies have revolutionized the ways of explaining death, there are still reservations from social and health scientists who argue that the technology is only ideal for official statistics. While people are now capable of understanding the causes of death, there has still been no explanation on why some people prefer to die instead of living. This has led to the number of suicide cases to keep going higher despite the concerted efforts by individuals and organizations to comprehend the death and dying process. This leaves death as one of the few remaining mysteries that are yet to be resolved (Finkler, 2005).

While scientific measures have been successful in reducing the infant mortality rates, the same efforts geared towards reversing old age have not been equally successful. The flurry of activity that have been witnessed in the area of creating ‘anti-aging’ medicine, stem cells and genetic modification are clear indications of the attempts by human beings to understand the death and dying process. However, despite the increased attempts by people to understand this issue, death and dying have remained one of the most formidable foes of humanity. Given that no technology has been successful in stopping death, it is therefore apparent that death remains a part of human life. In one study, scientists noted that cancerous cells keep on growing in a laboratory even after the person whom they have been taken from has died. This in itself gives the impression that the ‘thing’ that causes death is in itself immortal since it can outlive the person whom it has killed (McNamara, Charles, & Colvin, 2010).

While people agree that death is universal, there is no consensus on how the death is supposed to take place. In most cases, even health professionals are at a loss on how to react to requests for euthanasia either from their patients or their parents. This is because most people believe that the role of bringing about death should only be reserved to a supreme being. For this reason, euthanasia is considered to be ethically wrong and therefore remains as one of the issues that are highly debated in different cultures and in medical science in general (Lawton, 2010). The reason why people are reluctant to discuss euthanasia is that there is an unexplained fear of death which conjures up anxiety. In most cases, people talk of being haunted by the ‘spirit’ of the dead person and this prevents them from taking part in any activity that would hasten the death of a person. This explains why people have been keen on developing measures that lead to the lengthening of human life while critiquing any attempt to reduce the span of human life. Although medical practitioners are supposed to be guided by their own training when it comes to determining how to approach death and dying, the cultural background under which they operate usually has a great impact on the decisions they make regarding death and dying. Although numerous patients die in the hands of these doctors, very few of them are able to discuss the subject of death openly (Scheper-Hughes, 2012).

In the second half of the last century, social psychologist, Kubler-Ross came up with a theory, which was meant to explain the process that people go through after the death of a loved one. According to his theory, a person who has just lost a loved one first undergoes denial which is then replaced by anger, bargaining, hopelessness and then acceptance. These findings by Kubler-Ross were the results of a study that she had undertaken over the years as she observed her patients. The researcher noted that comprehending these processes was critical as it would make the subject of death and dying less painful than it is at the moment. This theory has been supported by other researchers who point out that the death of a loved one is followed by these five stages albeit in varied forms (Kubler-Ross, 1969).

Although there has been increased criticism of the Kubler-Ross theory, much of it has been directed towards the fact that the sequence doesn’t have to be as initially projected. However, what the critics fail to understand is that the suggestion by Kubler-Ross was hypothetical and was therefore open to developments. Regardless of whether the Kubler-Ross theory is flawed or not, one thing that is without doubt is that people whose loved one has departed go through a grieving period and should be helped to go through this period. Since grieving is often an emotional affair, psychologists should always be at hand to guide the grieving people through the process (Seale, 2000).

Although death is mysterious both in the traditional and the contemporary society, the manner in which people approach it has changed over the years. In the traditional society, people approached death in a celebratory manner since it was seen as a form of passage from one form of life to another. However, this has changed and today death is approached in a secretive manner. In the traditional society, the dead body would remain in the midst of the people, but technological advancements have considerably changed this concept. Today, bodies are preserved in special places and they are only allowed to mingle with human beings during the burial process albeit briefly. What this means is that the dead body is seen as a representation of death, and hence the reason why people are not keen to live with dead bodies. This gives the impression that death is feared in the modern society than it was in the traditional society (Dying Matters, 2014).

Although death is mysterious, research has shown that people actually realize when they are about to die. Learning these signs is a crucial since it prepares the loved ones to live with the reality of death. Once these signs are noted in a patient, all the efforts should be made to prepare the individual to transition in to the new life. Being prepared for the death is also crucial as people are able to prepare themselves psychologically to live without the person being around. In the event that the person was the breadwinner, people are given time to make financial arrangements on how to survive without the presence of the individual. In the event that a person is known to be in the last phase of his/her life, care should be taken to address that person’s wishes since the failure to do would bring about great retributions that the family or those close to the individual may have to live with for the rest of their lives. Although the world has become modernized, it is apparent that very little of the past concepts on death have changed thus making the idea of professionals on this matter to be dependent on the cultural climate to which they are based (Seale, 2000).

Conclusion

The subject of death and dying has been around for as long as history of humanity. Over the years, people have tried hard to determine why people die and where they go once they die but this question has so far generated no answers. The best answer to answering the question of death is offered by world religions, which point out that death is the transition from this state of life to another eternal one. Although many people have disagreed with this position, there has not been any other voice that has been authoritative on the matter considering that the professional position on the issue is shaped by the environment in which the professionals were brought up, and in which they practice. This has made death and dying to remain mysterious even for the modern society.

References

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Type 4

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