Death, Society, and Human Experience

by Kastenbaum, Robert J.

• ISBN13: 9780205264773
• ISBN10: 0205264778
• Edition: 6th
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 1997-09-01
• Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Summary

Landmark text in death education. Interdisciplinary approach. New chapter on HIV/AIDS. Includes case examples and reflective exercises to encourage students to reflect upon their own experiences with death issues.

Table of Contents

PREFACE	xv
1 AS WE THINK ABOUT DEATH	1	(24)
NOT THINKING ABOUT DEATH: A FAILED EXPERIMENT	2	(2)
Listening and Communicating	3	(1)
YOUR SELF-INVENTORY OF ATTITUDES, BELIEFS, AND FEELINGS	4	(6)
SOME ANSWERS--AND THE QUESTIONS THEY RAISE	10	(5)
Knowledge Base	10	(2)
Attitudes, Experiences, Beliefs, Feelings	12	(2)
How Does State of Mind Affect Death-Related Behavior?	14	(1)
HUMANS ARE MORTAL: BUT WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH ME?	15	(1)
ANXIETY, DENIAL, AND ACCEPTANCE: THREE CORE CONCEPTS	15	(1)
THEORIES AND STUDIES OF DEATH ANXIETY	16	(3)
How is Death Anxiety Studied?	16	(1)
How Does Death Anxiety Influence Our Lives? Theoretical Perspectives	16	(1)
How Much Do We Fear Death?	17	(1)
Are There Gender Differences in Death Anxiety?	18	(1)
Are There Age Differences in Death Anxiety?	18	(1)
Is Death Anxiety Related to Mental Health and Illness?	18	(1)
Back to Death Anxiety Theory	19	(1)
ACCEPTING AND DENYING DEATH	19	(6)
Types and Contexts of Acceptance and Denial	19	(2)
The Interpersonal Side of Acceptance and Denial	21	(1)
Anxiety, Denial, and Acceptance: How Should We Respond?	21	(4)
2 WHAT IS DEATH? What Does Death Mean?	25	(28)
COMPETING IDEAS ABOUT THE NATURE AND MEANING OF DEATH	26	(2)
"When," "What," and "Why" Questions about Death	26	(2)
BIOMEDICAL APPROACHES TO THE DEFINITION OF DEATH	28	(4)
Traditional Determination of Death	28	(1)
Ways of "Being Dead"	29	(1)
Brain Death and the Harvard Criteria	30	(1)
Whole-Brain or Neocortal Death?	31	(1)
Event Versus State	32	(1)
WHAT DOES DEATH MEAN?	32	(21)
Interpretations of the Death State	33	(2)
Cycling and Recycling	35	(2)
Implications of the Ways in Which We Interpret Death	37	(1)
Conditions That Resemble Death	37	(6)
Conditions That Death Resembles	43	(2)
Death As an Agent of Personal, Political, and Social Change	45	(4)
Concepts of Death and Readiness to Die	49	(4)
3 THE DEATH SYSTEM	53	(26)
A WORLD WITHOUT DEATH	53	(26)
General Consequences	56	(1)
Personal Consequences	57	(1)
BASIC CHARACTERISTICS OF THE DEATH SYSTEM	58	(16)
A Working Definition	58	(1)
Components of the Death System	59	(4)
Functions of the Death System	63	(11)
HOW OUR DEATH SYSTEM HAS BEEN CHANGING--AND THE "DEATHNIKS" WHO ARE MAKING A DIFFERENCE	74	(5)
Changing Ways of Life, Changing Ways of Death	74	(1)
The Beginnings of Death Education, Research, and Counseling	75	(4)
4 CAUSES OF DEATH: YESTERDAY, TODAY, AND TOMORROW	79	(8)
BASIC TERMS AND CONCEPTS	79	(8)
Death Learns to Wait: The Increase in Life Expectancy and Longevity	80	(1)
Leading Causes of Death in the United States Today	81	(2)
Causes of Death in the Future?	83	(4)
5 DYING Transition from Life	87	(32)
WHAT IS DYING AND WHEN DOES IT BEGIN?	88	(6)
Individual and Interpersonal Responses	88	(3)
Onset of the Dying Process: Alternative Perspectives	91	(3)
TRAJECTORIES OF DYING: FROM BEGINNING TO END	94	(6)
Certainty and Time	95	(1)
The Lingering Trajectory	96	(1)
The Expected Quick Trajectory	97	(1)
The Unexpected Quick Trajectory	98	(1)
Life-or-Death Emergencies	99	(1)
GUARDED FEELINGS, SUBTLE COMMUNICATIONS	100	(6)
Difficulties in Communication	101	(1)
Doctor-Patient Communication: The SUPPORT Study	102	(1)
Improving Communication	103	(3)
INDIVIDUALITY AND UNIVERSALITY IN THE EXPERIENCE OF DYING	106	(4)
Factors that Influence the Experience of Dying	106	(3)
Interpersonal Relationships	109	(1)
Disease, Treatment, and Environment	109	(1)
THEORETICAL MODELS OF THE DYING PROCESS	110	(9)
Do We Die in Stages?	110	(4)
Other Theoretical Models of the Dying Process	114	(2)
Your Deathbed Scene	116	(3)
6 THE HOSPICE APPROACH TO TERMINAL CARE	119	(28)
HOSPICE: A NEW FLOWERING FROM ANCIENT ROOTS	120	(2)
STANDARDS OF CARE FOR THE TERMINALLY ILL	122	(3)
Hidden or Implicit Standards of Care	123	(1)
Proposed Standards Recommended by the International Task Force	123	(2)
ESTABLISHMENT OF HOSPICE PROGRAMS IN THE UNITED STATES	125	(2)
From Guidelines to Operational Programs	125	(1)
Full Service and Partial Service Hospices	126	(1)
THE HOSPICE IN ACTION	127	(6)
Entering St. Christopher's	127	(1)
Mother's Last Moments: A Daughter's Experience	128	(2)
Helping Mrs. Doe: Excerpts from a Clinical Record	130	(1)
Adult Respite Care	131	(1)
Hospice-Inspired Care for Children	132	(1)
IS THE HOSPICE EXPERIMENT WORKING?	133	(5)
Is Hospice Care Really Helping Terminally Ill People and Their Families?	134	(3)
The Cost of Hospice Care	137	(1)
The Operational Success of Hospice Care	138	(1)
YOUR DEATHBED SCENE, REVISITED	138	(2)
ACCESS TO HOSPICE CARE AND THE DECISION-MAKING PROCESS	140	(2)
ON THE FUTURE OF HOSPICE CARE: AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE	142	(5)
Hospice as Temple of Learning	143	(4)
7 AIDS: LIVING IN THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW	147	(28)
ACQUIRED IMMUNODEFICIENCY SYNDROME (AIDS)	148	(10)
Nature of the Disease	148	(2)
Silent and Active Stages of HIV/AIDS	150	(2)
How Did the AIDS Virus Become Part of Our Society?	152	(2)
How Do Individuals Contract the AIDS Infection?	154	(4)
Risky and Not-Risky Behaviors: A Summary	158	(1)
THE CASUALTIES: AIDS-RELATED DEATHS	158	(13)
AIDS in the United States	158	(3)
AIDS Throughout the World	161	(2)
Changing Patterns of AIDS in the U.S. Death System	163	(7)
Comfort for Grief, Alternatives to Suicide	170	(1)
The AIDS Watch: Continuing Developments	171	(1)
APPENDIX: NATIONAL AIDS ORGANIZATIONS	171	(4)
8 SUICIDE	175	(32)
THE STATISTICAL PROFILE	176	(4)
United States and World Suicide Rates	178	(1)
The Human Side	179	(1)
THREE PROBLEM AREAS	180	(7)
Youth Suicide	180	(4)
Suicide among Elderly Persons	184	(2)
Suicide among Native Americans	186	(1)
Balancing Individual and Cultural Influences on Suicide	187	(1)
SOME CULTURAL MEANINGS OF SUICIDE	187	(5)
Suicide as Sinful	187	(2)
Suicide as Criminal	189	(1)
Suicide as Weakness or Madness	189	(1)
Suicide as "The Great Death"	190	(1)
Suicide as Rational Alternative	191	(1)
A POWERFUL SOCIOLOGICAL THEORY OF SUICIDE	192	(2)
The Importance of Social Integration	192	(1)
Four Types of Suicide	193	(1)
SOME INDIVIDUAL MEANINGS OF SUICIDE	194	(4)
Suicide for Reunion	194	(1)
Suicide for Rest and Refuge	195	(1)
Suicide for Revenge	195	(1)
Suicide As the Penalty for Failure	196	(1)
Suicide As a Mistake	197	(1)
A PSYCHOANALYTICAL APPROACH TO SUICIDE	198	(1)
THE DESCENT TOWARD SUICIDE	199	(1)
FACTS, MYTHS, AND GUIDELINES	200	(1)
Popular Myths about Suicide	200	(1)
SUICIDE PREVENTION	201	(6)
Individual Guidelines to Suicide Prevention	201	(1)
Systematic Approaches to Suicide Prevention	202	(5)
9 VIOLENT DEATH: MURDER, TERRORISM, ACCIDENT, AND DISASTER	207	(28)
MURDER	208	(10)
Overview	208	(1)
Murder: The Statistical Picture	208	(2)
Patterns of Murder in the United States	210	(1)
Domestic Violence: The Abused Woman Defends Herself	211	(1)
People Who Kill Children	212	(1)
Mass and Serial Killers: Who Are They and Why Do They Do It?	213	(2)
Political Murder: Assassination in the United States	215	(2)
Young Men with Guns	217	(1)
TERRORISM	218	(10)
Who is the Terrorist?	218	(3)
Twentieth Century Terrorism	221	(2)
Terrorism and the Death System Today	223	(5)
ACCIDENT AND DISASTER	228	(7)
Accidents	229	(2)
Natural Disasters	231	(4)
10 ASSISTED DEATH AND THE RIGHT TO DIE	235	(36)
"I SWEAR BY APOLLO THE PHYSICIAN": WHAT HAPPENED TO THE HIPPOCRATIC OATH?	236	(1)
KEY TERMS AND CONCEPTS	237	(4)
OUR CHANGING ATTITUDES TOWARD A RIGHT TO DIE	241	(2)
Survey Findings	241	(2)
THE RIGHT-TO-DIE DILEMMA: CASE EXAMPLES	243	(9)
The Ethics of Withdrawing Treatment: The Landmark Quinlan Case	243	(1)
"It's Over, Debbie": Compassion or Murder?	244	(2)
An Arrow through the Physician's Armor	246	(1)
Does a Person Have to Be Dying to Have the Right to Die?	247	(2)
Competent to Decide?	249	(2)
A Supreme Court Ruling: The Nancy Cruzan Case	251	(1)
RIGHT-TO-DIE DECISIONS THAT WE CAN MAKE	252	(6)
From Living Will to Patient's Self-Determination Act	253	(1)
Informed Consent and the Patient's Self-Determination Act	254	(3)
A Right Not to Die? The Cryonics Alternative	257	(1)
DR. KEVORKIAN AND THE ASSISTED SUICIDE MOVEMENT	258	(13)
The Netherlands: A Social Experiment Watched Closely by the World	259	(1)
Assisted Death in the Kevorkian Manner	260	(3)
Evaluating Kevorkian's Approach	263	(1)
Compassion in Dying: An Alternative Model	264	(2)
New Developments in the Legalization of Assisted Suicide	266	(1)
A Personal Word	267	(4)
11 DEATH IN THE WORLD OF CHILDHOOD	271	(36)
ADULT ASSUMPTIONS ABOUT CHILDREN AND DEATH	272	(2)
CHILDREN DO THINK ABOUT DEATH	274	(9)
Early Experiences with Death in Childhood	274	(2)
Death in the Songs and Games of Childhood	276	(1)
Research and Clinical Evidence	277	(1)
Research Case Histories	278	(5)
CONCEPTS OF DEATH: DEVELOPING THROUGH EXPERIENCE	283	(7)
"Auntie Death's" Pioneering Study	284	(2)
Evaluating Nagy's contribution	286	(1)
Developmental Level--More Important Than Chronological Age?	287	(1)
Does Anxiety Influence Children's Thoughts about Death?	288	(1)
Cultural Influences on Children's Concepts of Death	289	(1)
HOW DO CHILDREN COPE WITH BEREAVEMENT?	290	(4)
A Death in the Family: Effects on the Child	290	(2)
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) following a Violent Death	292	(1)
Long-term Effects of Childhood Bereavement	292	(2)
HELPING CHILDREN COPE WITH BEREAVEMENT	294	(2)
THE DYING CHILD	296	(5)
Care of the Dying Child	299	(1)
Siblings of the Dying Child	300	(1)
SHARING THE CHILD'S DEATH CONCERNS: A FEW GUIDELINES	301	(1)
THE `RIGHT' TO DECIDE: SHOULD THE CHILD'S VOICE BE HEARD?	302	(5)
12 BEREAVEMENT, GRIEF, AND MOURNING	307	(40)
DEFINING OUR TERMS: BEREAVEMENT, GRIEF, MOURNING	309	(7)
Bereavement: An Objective Fact	309	(1)
Grief: A Painful Response	310	(3)
Mourning: A Signal of Distress	313	(3)
THEORETICAL PERSPECTIVES ON GRIEF	316	(6)
The Griefwork Theory	317	(1)
Interpersonal Applications of Griefwork Theory	318	(2)
Other Theoretical Approaches to Understanding Grief	320	(2)
HOW DO PEOPLE RECOVER FROM GRIEF?	322	(13)
When a Spouse Dies	322	(4)
Types of Recovery from the Impact of Marital Bereavement	326	(3)
The Family that Has Lost a Child	329	(4)
Bereavement in Later Life	333	(1)
Grief Responses to Traumatic and Stigmatized Deaths	334	(1)
ARE BEREAVED PEOPLE AT HIGHER RISK FOR DEATH?	335	(3)
Differential Mortality Risk: The Statistical Pattern	335	(1)
Who Is Most at Risk?	336	(1)
What Are the Leading Causes of Death among the Bereaved?	336	(1)
Hidden and Disenfranchised Grief	337	(1)
LIMITED SUPPORT FOR THE BEREAVED	338	(2)
American Society's Discomfort with Grief and Mourning	338	(1)
Time for Grief--But Not Much Time	339	(1)
MEANINGFUL HELP FOR BEREAVED PEOPLE	340	(7)
Widow to Widow: The Phyllis Silverman Interview	340	(1)
Helpful and Unhelpful Responses to the Bereaved Person	341	(6)
13 THE FUNERAL PROCESS	347	(32)
FROM DEAD BODY TO LIVING MEMORY: A PROCESS APPROACH	350	(6)
Common Elements of the Funeral Process	350	(3)
The Funeral Service	353	(2)
Memorializing the Deceased	355	(1)
Getting on with Life	355	(1)
MAKING DEATH "LEGAL"	356	(4)
Establishing the Facts of Death	356	(2)
The Medical Examiner and the Autopsy	358	(1)
Body, Property, and the Law	359	(1)
WHAT DOES THE FUNERAL PROCESS ACCOMPLISH?	360	(9)
When Great People Die	360	(1)
Death Makes a Hero	361	(2)
Hiding the Illustrious Dead	363	(1)
Balancing the Claims of the Living and the Dead	364	(2)
Memories of Our People: Ethnic Cemeteries in the United States	366	(3)
THE PLACE OF THE DEAD IN SOCIETY, YESTERDAY AND TODAY	369	(3)
An Ethical Position on the Treatment of Human Remains: The Vermillion Accord	370	(1)
"You Were the Best Dog Ever": The Pet Cemetery	371	(1)
CURRENT DEVELOPMENTS: A FUNERAL DIRECTOR'S PERSPECTIVE	372	(2)
IMPROVING THE FUNERAL PROCESS	374	(5)
Alternative Funerals	375	(1)
Spontaneous Memorialization in Response to Violent Death	375	(4)
14 DO WE SURVIVE DEATH?	379	(30)
CONCEPT OF SURVIVAL IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE	380	(3)
Does Survival Have to Be Proved?	381	(2)
NEAR-DEATH EXPERIENCES: NEW EVIDENCE FOR SURVIVAL?	383	(11)
The Primary, or Moody-Type, Near-Death Experience	383	(2)
Evidence Favoring the NDE as Proof of Survival	385	(1)
The Sabom Study: Independent Verification of NDE Phenomena	386	(1)
Eliminating Other Explanations	387	(1)
Can Interview and Questionnaire Data Prove That NDE Survivors Have Actually Survived Death?	387	(1)
Has NDE Research Ended Before It Really Started?	388	(1)
Evidence and Logic against the Near-Death Experience as Evidence for Survival	389	(1)
Mysticism, Depersonalization, and Hyperalertness in Response to Crisis	390	(1)
When Do People Not Have NDEs? An Alternative Explanation	391	(1)
Are NDEs Hallucinations?	392	(1)
NDEs as Exercises in Religious Imagination?	392	(1)
The NDER as a Healing and Illuminating Metaphor	393	(1)
Is a Conclusion Possible?
OTHER TYPES OF POSSIBLE EVIDENCE FOR SURVIVAL	394	(6)
Deathbed Escorts	394	(1)
Guardian Angels	395	(2)
Communicating with the Dead?	397	(1)
When Spiritism Was in Flower	397	(1)
Channeling and Past Life Regression	398	(1)
The Psychomanteum and Reunion with the Dead	398	(1)
Reincarnation	399	(1)
SHOULD WE SURVIVE DEATH?	400	(2)
BUT WHAT KIND OF SURVIVAL?	402	(1)
YOUR THOUGHTS ON SURVIVAL: A REVIEW	403	(1)
THE SUICIDE-SURVIVAL CONNECTION	404	(5)
15 HOW CAN WE HELP? The Promise of Death Education and Counseling	409	(18)
DEATH EDUCATORS AND COUNSELORS: THE "BORDER PATROL"	410	(1)
DEATH EDUCATION IN HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE	411	(3)
From Ancient Times	411	(3)
DEATH EDUCATION AND COUNSELING: THE CURRENT SCENE	414	(5)
How Effective is Death Education?	416	(1)
The Expanding Scope of Death Education	417	(2)
COUNSELING AND THE COUNSELORS	419	(3)
Characteristics of Professionals in the Death System	419	(2)
Counseling and Psychotherapy	421	(1)
HOW WE ALL CAN HELP	422	(1)
APPENDIX: SELECTED LEARNING RESOURCES	423	(4)
National Organizations with Interests and Expertise in Related Issues	423	(1)
Scholarly and Professional Journals	424	(1)
Selected Videos	424	(3)
INDEX	427