Abstract
Facing the end of life, achieving a good death requires such genuinely human needs that science and medical technique are insufficient. But this limitation does not constitute a total denial of the existence of positive elements in the inevitable technicalization of the dying process that could contribute to its humanization. After an analytical review of the scientific literature on the care of terminal patients, we conclude that there are some reasons, truths and aspects of death that science and medical technique fail to understand, and that, therefore, are they insufficient to deal with them humanely. In conclusion, we propose palliative care as the best alternative to humanize death and counteract some negative effects of its current technification.
Highlights
Resumo: Encarar o fim de uma vida enferma para obter uma boa morte requer necessidades tão genuinamente humanas que a ciência e a técnica médica são insuficientes para satisfazê-las
Facing the end of life, achieving a good death requires such genuinely human needs that science and medical technique are insufficient. This limitation does not constitute a total denial of the existence of positive elements in the inevitable technicalization of the dying process that could contribute to its humanization
El «ser» de la muerte no es un ser de nadie, sino que exige el «ser» de un sujeto -al que realmente le sobreviene la muerte, que, de no ser a causa de ésta, seguiría vivo.[4]
Summary
La mayoría de los mortales sostienen que, junto al nacimiento, lo más natural en el hombre es la muerte. Y, ciertamente, no disponemos de ningún otro hecho que, desde una perspectiva empírica, se haya comprobado tantas veces y de forma tan tozuda como el morir humano. Como para todo ser vivo, para el hombre, tan natural es nacer como morir, comenzar a vivir como dejar de hacerlo. De todas formas, aunque morir humanamente sea natural, uno de los riesgos se encuentra en reducir su acto a un dato, a un resultado numérico o una estadística poblacional. Algunos se plantean si podemos seguir considerando a la muerte como algo natural y continuar contemplando la naturalidad del morir,[2] porque, de hecho, –por la propia tecnificación y medicalización- apenas aparece ya lo natural como causa de la muerte. El «ser» de la muerte no es un ser de nadie, sino que exige el «ser» de un sujeto -al que realmente le sobreviene la muerte-, que, de no ser a causa de ésta, seguiría vivo.[4]
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