Understanding Departure: Diversity of Perspectives on Death in Societies and Religions

Abstract

For biomedicine, "death is the irreversible loss of the capacity and content of the consciousness that provides the essential attributes of the human being and that integrate the functioning of the organism as a whole". Until well into the 19th century, the organ that determined a person's death was the heart. If the heart stopped beating, death had won the battle; however, with the advance of medicine, other signs are considered to declare a person dead. Among these biological signs are the cessation of brain function, breathing, blood circulation and when the heart stops beating. Doctors affirm that a brain-dead person manifests the absence of movements, repeated grimaces, incessant blinking, not responding to light and not breathing independently. To conclude with this essay, we must recognize the importance for us as health professionals who evidence death in our daily lives to be aware of the concept of death since this allows us to articulate the attitudes that are socially assumed in front of it and in general, with the social game; and, at the same time, how this practice favours that awareness and know how different cultures, societies and religions face death, in order to be able to be nurses with an intercultural vision about death.