The Changing Paradigm of Death and Dying

Abstract

Biologically, death means the cessation of a living being and dying is the process of reaching towards this cessation. However, this biological sameness in medical terms cannot define death completely; it is also a culturally constructed idea. As society transformed from one phase to another, the ways in which the phenomena of death and dying are construed have also undergone a change. This article is a review-based paper that attempts to understand the changing paradigms of death and dying from pre-modern/early modern times to the post-modern era. In primitive times, aborigines attempted to comprehend the reality of death in the light of separation of blood and flesh and accordingly devised practices to deal with it. Gradually, the organised institution of religion evolved and developed very systematic answers to the phenomenon of death. People perceived death and dying, according to their religious orientation and had an attitude of acceptance towards it. Then, modernity heralded and shifted death and dying to the purview of science. From being a part of life, death became an enemy of life. Thereafter, in post-modern times, death has become a ‘spectacle’ which is much more visible but kept at a safe distance.