Caring for the Sick Person Through a Gift: A Socio-Anthropological Analysis

Abstract

The issue of donation makes sense in a world where the capitalist logic is growing. The challenges of giving to people in need during the day dedicated to the sick was an opportunity for us to make an anthropological reading of caring for the sick through giving. Indeed, the sick person is vulnerable and requires a particular look. Their needs are biological, psychological, social and spiritual. Caring for them through gifts in kind and the gift of oneself (accompaniment, touching, listening, education and care) are dimensions of caring. However, this approach to the gift is not always shared by all, as it does not necessarily follow the logic of Marcel Mauss' theoretical model. The concept of donation, distorted by the individualist paradigm, is part of a system of giving-receiving-giving back or the theory of reciprocity oriented towards the understanding of social obligations, which has allowed us to understand the practices of donation in our modern societies and particularly in the outbursts of solidarity of donations to the sick organised by the School of Health Sciences each year. This article is an echo for health professionals to understand that making a donation to a sick person is taking care of the other (giving), in a situation of fragility, it is giving oneself to the other.