The faces of death.

Abstract

The individual9s reaction to imminent death depends on his concept of the existential meaning of death. There are two main, but opposing, concepts, one positive and the other tragic. The first sees death as a transition to another mode of being. Within that three main modalities are to be distinguished, in which is considered either as an element in the cosmic harmony, the reintegration of the individual into the universal (the `Tagorian9 mode); or secondly the possibility of man9s external existence through his transfer, together with his entire physical and psychological apparatus, to a realm of legend (the `Mioritic9 mode); or thirdly the culmination of life, the moment of maximum existential concentration overflowing into the universe and encircling it (the `Rilkian9 mode). The second concept, the tragic concept, sees death either as a desired solution, which puts an end to the nothingness of life (the `Tracklian9 mode); or as a nonsense, as an absurd injustice of nature (the `common9 mode); or as a necessity of which we do not know the meaning, a dialectical moment of eternal change (the `Stoic9 mode). The psychological care of the dying involves identification with the patient9s concept of death, in order to maintain his morale and possibly diminish his terror of death. The doctor must therefore be a good psychologist and a genuine philosopher, in the strictest sense of the word.