J.C. Ameisen, D. Hervieu-Léger, and E. Hirsh (Eds.). Qu'est-ce que mourir?Paris: Le Pommier/Cité des sciences et de l'industrie, 2003.

Abstract

Researchers in the fields of biology, religious studies, history, medical ethics, philosophy, and sociology offer a popularized interpretation of “what is death and dying.” This book is divided into three sections, each beginning with a relevant discussion on the contexts of the issue of death and dying. The work proposes three insights into the subject. First, the image of “the dead and the living,” as presented in art history, is revisited through the genetics and biology discourses that have recently challenged the traditional concepts of aging, as well as the very definition of “clinical” death. Second, the “experience of death” is based on new ideologies that reassess the solitude and individualistic nature of the dying and the necessity of reestablishing the links between the dying and the living, as reiterating the cultural norm. Finally, the “good death” establishes a virtual breach between two types of mythical figures – the heroes and the saints – and the relational singularity of palliative care.