'Old age and death are especially subject to social taboo in contemporary society?' Explain why this is the case.

The fifth and final stage of death is acceptance. The patient eventually accepts his or her fate, they now fully realise that they will die. The acceptance of death ensures a relative sense of peace for most dying people. Anger depression and resentment are not usually found at this stage. Dr Kubler-Ross notes that “this should not be mistaken for a happy stage. It is almost void of feelings”

However, it is not always known by the individual that their ‘time has come’. Accidental death, for example in a car crash is not predictable, leaves one completely unprepared for death. It also holds implications for the family members of the deceased and often raises questions such as why my family? Why now? As death are a social taboo it is often hard to talk about and a problem of whom to talk to may also arise.  

Death has been given an almost apocryphal image, by popular fiction, magazines, films and news clips. It may be argued that developments in medical and scientific technology along with explorations through film have brought the subject of death back into popular thought. Again it should be noted, when thinking of death, one does not tend to think of ones own death. An example of this is the recent film ‘Vanilla Sky’ which considers the dilemma faced by the dead, but preserved and unconscious, as the choice of returning to real life. This is somewhat fictitious view of death which is increasingly seen in the western world. This is often seen as celluloid death.

Religious belief in contemporary Western society has dwindled over recent times, for many this means no satisfactory explanations as to why death occurs can be provided on any meaningful level. Death in western society seems now to be dominated by scientific explanations. An example of this is the black death of the 14th century. This was not explained and justified in medical terms but rather many believed it to be some form of punishment by God for both sinful behaviour and disbelief. 

In contrast to western society, Islam, the dominant religion of the Middle East believes life after death for the Muslim is construed as a paradise reward. For this reason death is often seen as a blessing to the people of the Middle East.

In the Himalayan region, life and death are also viewed in a much different manner to that in western society. Death is inescapable as much as it is uncertain, for this reason it is viewed as an opportunity which must be properly prepared for. It is believed that being prepared to face death brings pleasure and contentment to life rather than negativity. It is believed that dying is not any form of punishment from a higher being and should not be approached with fear but rather with joy as it ultimately gives access to an ‘infinitely better condition’.

Funerals and mourning in the western world are frequently insufficient and are generally a rather rushed affair. Tony Walters (1994) views western society’s way of dealing with death as “often brief, staid, unemotional affairs that leave little time for mourning”. It may be for this reason that the alternative funeral is now the fashion and also provides a more personal touch reflecting personal beliefs.

One of the most prominent and persistent changes in death rituals is their personalisation. Reflecting the pervasiveness of change, some mainstream religions have modified their traditional death rituals in response to secular and pluralistic pressures. In Western society as a whole, the funeral is being modified to accommodate increasingly varying ideologies and personal needs. This trend toward personalisation is a response to the depersonalisation people feel in relation to social institutions. Death within the institutional setting is now increasingly likely; the experience is also less likely to be in the presence of family and friends. Death has become a progressively more personal experience and is private rather than public.

Reflecting the ideological diversity, availability of choice, and freedom of individual action evident in post modernity, various types of rituals, memorials and ashes disposition are being combined to create a multitude of funeral patterns. Becoming more personalised secular, pluralistic, historical and less formal, rituals more closely reflect the nature of individuals than that of formal social structures.

“One significant feature of change is the secularisation of western societies in which death is no longer clothed with the certitude of faith.”

Turner

Secular, or non-church rituals, may include photos of the deceased, or the display of personal items which were significant to the deceased. If the body viewed prior to cremation, the deceased may be informally dressed, or dressed in a manner congruent with his or her identity. Popular music may be used, ashes may be scattered in a place that represents the deceased's identity or ideological views, and mourners may directly participate in the rituals through song, poems, prayer, or scattering of the ashes. Religion is losing its historic domination over death, most notably to the medical and legal institutions; this is due to modernisation and secularisation.

It seems contemporary western culture is now trying to find a new concept of death. Our culture is perhaps at a turning point. The Christian world view declines in its influence over popular culture. One may wonder what will replace it and what kind of lifestyle its replacement will lead to.

As mentioned previously the process of dying has been moved from the home to the institutional setting. It has been taken away from every day life and tucked away out of site in hospitals and nursing homes. Family members and friends have been replaced by health care professionals and ‘managed by specialised technologies’

S. Hunt. Death has been isolated in hospitals and other such institutions, out of sight from the rest of society, so as not to act as a constant reminder of the inescapable. Lllich suggested there has been a shift form death as the sphere of influence of the church to death being now the domain of medicine. ‘The doctor replaces the priest at the bedside of the dying’.

The beliefs people have regarding death can often have a profound influence on how they live. Our attitude towards death is capable of shaping what we value in our lives. The problem with the fear of death is that it can paralyse one’s ability to enjoy life and erode one’s confidence that there is meaning to life. The inevitability of death, therefore, has created an internal conflict in humans, a persisting disharmony. Although we may accept the idea of death in the abstract without uneasiness, sooner or later each of us will be obliged to face these disturbing issues that arise. Some may argue to reconcile and to satisfy the natural yearning to live on; humans have fabricated all sorts of beliefs, from doctrine of immortality of the soul to the belief in reincarnation.

Death is now more common in the institutional setting therefore the dying is somewhat segregated form family and friends. It has become very much a private affair no longer in the presence of members of the public. It follows that death no longer has a great social significance, and is often not widely spoken of, with post death rituals generally only included close family and friends. Aries observed a time in Europe when the dead would be buried together in unmarked graves (S. Hunt). This is no longer the case; the dead are now buried in single plots with a headstone bestowing the name and age of the individual.  There has also been a change in the way the body disposed; cremation has now become increasingly common.

The elderly have a direct relation to death as they watch their friends pass through this natural and final stage of life which is seen so often as unmentionable. For those who are in the in the older adulthood transition there is more trepidation of death, this may partially be due to the increase in life expectancy. In the early 1900’s life expectancy for the average white male was only 48 years old where as in today’s society to die at an age of approximately 70 is quite typical.  Loether suggests the dramatic increase in life expectancy since the early 1900’s is largely due to an advance in ‘medical sciences, sanitation and nutrition’ (Loether). Many of the causes of death which were abundant in traditional societies such as cholera, small pox and typhus are now controllable and no longer pose a threat to our society. These medical advances can assist in postponing death; however death is the natural end to the life cycle and can not be avoided. According to McGraw-Hill heart disease and cancer are the biggest killers in contemporary western society. However these illnesses are usually developed and associated with old age and not usually thought about by the young.

The advancement in science over the last century has led to some extreme measures to which people in the western world are prepared to take. The desire to postpone death has fuelled a new idea where people are trying with complete seriousness to outwit death by the use of refrigeration techniques.

“The prospect that cures for many fatal diseases are in the offing has led to the suggestion that the deceased be put into deep freeze immediately after death and be kept there until such time as it is possible to defrost and revive him. It has also been suggested that terminal patients be frozen before death until such a time as their maladies can be cured.”  

Loether, Herman J.

Social critics talk about a new form of existence in a world in which a total transformation would lead to the abolition of death.

A form of death which is often seen as a taboo, which there has been much debate about is euthanasia. Euthanasia is the ‘voluntary ending of life’ S. Hunt. There are two forms of euthanasia, direct or active and indirect otherwise known as passive. Direct euthanasia is the process of inducing death; this is often done by the injection of lethal drugs. The second form of euthanasia is the process of allowing a person to die by disconnecting life support systems or withholding life saving techniques.

Another form of death is suicide and is also seen as a taboo, maybe even more than euthanasia. Suicide is the successful or unsuccessful attempt to intentionally kill oneself. Suicidal behaviours occur as a result to a situation that the person finds overwhelming. These behaviours often leave the individual feeling more isolated than they were initially. It has been severely neglected area as it is a subject not spoken of making it difficult to get help once these feelings arise.

Euthanasia and suicide are seen as a taboo by many in western society. Euthanasia has been the subject of much debate in recent years. Religious groups are particularly opposed to euthanasia as it as seen as something which is morally wrong under any circumstances; no one has the right to take a life, even if it their own. This recent debate has meant death has now become a subject some will talk about, although it is not spoken of with respect to oneself.

In conclusion it would seem that death in Western society is generally viewed as a failure. Everyone who is related to the dying person experiences a of sense of failure. The one who is dying feels a failure for having the disease, letting the family down, or not taking good care of him self. The doctors feel a failure because they can't save their patients' lives. Families feel a failure because in spite of their love and caring, they can't undo death. Because of such feelings of failure, guilt, embarrassment, and sometimes even shame, death becomes an off-limits subject. We are so afraid of suicide, euthanasia and death that if anyone mentions the word in his own reference, we view it as morbid thinking. Death is a taboo subject. The insurance industry realized a long time ago that nobody is going to buy "death insurance," therefore, to make it a more palatable subject; they termed it "life insurance."

We try our best to avoid any thoughts, words or deeds related to death as if healthy living might be possible by taking the word "death" out of the dictionary. Therefore, when people are near death or death-like circumstances, they don't know what to do. They find themselves most unprepared because they never developed the skills to deal with death as a factual, inevitable, and unavoidable reality of life.

Elizabeth Kubler-Ross once said that death is the final stage of growth. It should be noted that she uses the word "growth," rather than "failure" or "defeat." A normal, mature and non-accidental death is really the graduation event of this college of life.

It should also be noted that although death is often seen as such a taboo subject in western society, it is also a matter of grave fascination. It is a topic often brought up in films, on television, books and newspapers and has assisted in selling all these products.

Not everyone agrees that death is a taboo in western society. There are factors two support each side of this argument. It seems death is a taboo to a certain extent but in times of need friends and family join together to become a support system for one another. As a society it is still be an issue which needs to be addressed, more literature needs to be made available and the fear of death removed. Death is merely a natural ending to natural life.

Bibliography

Aries, Philippe.

Western attitudes to death; from Middle Ages to the Present

Marion Boyers (1976)        

Chi Hick, William C.

The Muslim Understanding of Death and Afterlife in Hiroshi Obeoyashi (Ed)

 Death and afterlife (1992)

Hunt, S., Death and Dying (lecture notes)

Hunt, S., A Sociology of the Life Course;

Continuities and Change,

Chapter 14

Electronic Book

Kubler-Ross, Elisabeth,

On Death an Dying,

Tavistock Publications, 1973, reprinted 1981

Loether, Herman J.,

Problems of Aging Sociological and Social Psychological Perspectives,

Dickenson Publishing Company (1967)

Turner, B.S.

Medical Power and Social Knowledge (2nd ed)

Sage, London (1995)

Walter, T. (edited by Donna Dickenson and Malcolm Johnson)

Death, Dying & Bereavement

Sage, London (1993)

Word Count; 2,948

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