Read complete books and articles on: Death

Death - cessation of all life (metabolic) processes. Death may involve the organism as a whole (somatic death) or may be confined to cells and tissues within the organism. Causes of death in human beings include injury, acute or chronic disease, and neoplasia (cancer). The physiological death of cells that are normally replaced throughout life is called necrobiosis; the death of cells caused by

Somatic death is characterized by the discontinuance of cardiac activity and respiration, and eventually leads to the death of all body cells from lack of oxygen, although for approximately six minutes after somatic death—a period referred to as clinical death—a person whose vital organs have not been damaged may be revived. However, achievements of modern biomedical technology have enabled the physician to artificially maintain critical functions for indefinite periods.

Somatic death is followed by a number of irreversible changes that are of legal importance, especially in estimating the time of death. These include rigor mortis, livor mortis (discoloration of the body due to settling of blood), algor mortis (cooling of the body), autolysis (breakdown of tissue by enzymes liberated by that tissue after death), and putrefaction (invasion of the body by organisms from the gastrointestinal tract).

Brain death, which is now a legal condition in most states for declared death, requires that the following be absent for at least 12 hours: behavioral or reflex motor functions above the neck, including pupillary reflexes to testing jaw reflex, gag reflex, response to noxious stimuli, and any spontaneous respiratory movement. Purely spinal reflexes can remain. If the patient has agreed to be an organ donor, the observation period can be shortened to 6 hours.

As a result of recent refinements in organ transplantation (see transplantation, medical) techniques, the need has arisen to more precisely define medical death. The current definition is that of a 1981 U.S. presidential commission, which recommended that death be defined as "irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem," the brain stem being that part of the brain that controls breathing and other basic body functions. Some feel, however, that people in persistent vegetative states, i.e., people who have brain-stem function but have lost higher brain functions (vision, abstract thought, personality), should be considered dead and allowed, through living wills or relatives, to donate organs.

See euthanasia; funeral customs; vital statistics.

See E. Kübler-Ross, On Death and Dying (1969); S. B. Nuland, How We Die (1994).

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16 of the Best Books and Articles on: Death

as selected by Questia librarians

1.

On Death and Dying » Read Now
by Elisabeth Kubler-Ross. 260 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library
2.

The Sacred Art of Dying: How World Religions Understand Death » Read Now
by Kenneth Paul Kramer. 225 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

Examines how each of the major religions looks at death by including stories, teachings and rituals that present a comparative religious meaning of death and afterlife. Written in textbook style with journal exercises at the end of each chapter.
3.

Death and Afterlife: Perspectives of World Religions » Read Now
by Hiroshi Obayashi. 210 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

Major religious traditions of the world contain perspectives of perennial importance on the topic of death and afterlife. Such concepts are not only reflected directly in mortuary and funerary practices, but also inform patterns of beliefs and rituals that shape human lifestyles. Here thirteen...
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Major religious traditions of the world contain perspectives of perennial importance on the topic of death and afterlife. Such concepts are not only reflected directly in mortuary and funerary practices, but also inform patterns of beliefs and rituals that shape human lifestyles. Here thirteen scholars, each a specialist in a particular religious tradition, outline the beliefs and practices relating to death and afterlife. The volume introduction provides a framework for understanding the evolutionary relationships among world religions and the unity as well as the diversity of their quest for overcoming death.
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4.

Experiences of Death: An Anthropological Account » Read Now
by Jennifer Lorna Hockey. 220 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library

...Experiences of Death: An Anthropological Account To David...each one of his students Experiences of Death: An Anthropological Account Jennifer...Data Hockey, Jennifer...
5.

What They Saw... At the Hour of Death » Read Now
by Karlis Osis, Erlendur Haraldsson. 268 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

...WHAT THEY SAW... AT THE HOUR OF DEATH Editions of At The Hour of Death by Karlis Osis and Erlendur Haraldsson...French Canada WHAT THEY SAW... AT THE HOUR OF DEATH Third...
6.

Dying, Death, and Bereavement » Read Now
by Lewis R. Aiken. 398 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

This book is a brief but comprehensive survey of research, writings, and professional practices concerned with death and dying. It is interdisciplinary and eclectic--medical, psychological, religious, philosophical, artistic, demographics, bereavement, and widowhood are all considered--but with an...
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This book is a brief but comprehensive survey of research, writings, and professional practices concerned with death and dying. It is interdisciplinary and eclectic--medical, psychological, religious, philosophical, artistic, demographics, bereavement, and widowhood are all considered--but with an emphasis on psychological aspects. A variety of viewpoints and research findings on topics subsumed under "thanatology" receive thorough consideration. Questions, activities, and projects at the end of each chapter enhance reflection and personalize the material. This fourth edition features material on: * moral issues and court cases concerned with abortion and euthanasia; * the widespread problem of AIDS and other deadly diseases; * the tragedies occasioned by epidemics, starvation, and war; and * the resumption of capital punishment in many states. The book's enhanced multicultural tone reflects the increased economic, social, and physical interdependency among the nations of the world. Topics receiving increased attention in the fourth edition are: terror management; attitudes and practices concerning death; cross-cultural concepts of afterlife; gallows humor, out-of-body experiences; spiritualism; mass suicide; pet and romantic death; euthanasia; right to die; postbereavement depression; firearm deaths in children; children's understanding of death; child, adolescent, adult, and physician-assisted suicide; religious customs and death; confronting death; legal issues in death, dying and bereavement; death education; death music; creativity and death; longevity; broken heart phenomenon; beliefs in life after death; new definitions of death; children's acceptance of a parent's death; terminal illness; and the politics of death and dying.
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7.

Hidden Futures: Death and Immortality in Ancient Egypt, Anatolia, the Classical, Biblical and Arabic-Islamic World » Read Now
by J. M. Bremer, Theo P. J. van den Hout, R. Peters. 256 pgs.

Collections: Religious Studies, Entire Library

...Hidden Futures Hidden Futures Death and Immortality in Ancient Egypt, Anatolia...ANCIENT EGYPTIAN BELIEFS AND PRACTICES CONCERNING DEATH AND IMMORTALITY Henk Milde 15...
8.

Death, Memory, and Material Culture » Read Now
by Elizabeth Hallam, Jenny Hockey. 247 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library

· How do the living maintain ongoing relationships with the dead in Western societies?· How have the residual belongings of the dead been used to evoke memories?· Why has the body and its material environment remained so important in memory-making?Objects, images, practices, and places remind us of...
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· How do the living maintain ongoing relationships with the dead in Western societies?· How have the residual belongings of the dead been used to evoke memories?· Why has the body and its material environment remained so important in memory-making?Objects, images, practices, and places remind us of the deaths of others and of our own mortality. At the time of death, embodied persons disappear from view, their relationships with others come under threat and their influence may cease. Emotionally, socially, politically, much is at stake at the time of death. In this context, memories and memory-making can be highly charged, and often provide the dead with a social presence amongst the living. Memories of the dead are a bulwark against the terror of forgetting, as well as an inescapable outcome of a life's ending.Objects in attics, gardens, museums, streets and cemeteries can tell us much about the processes of remembering. This unusual and absorbing book develops perspectives in anthropology and cultural history to reveal the importance of material objects in experiences of grief, mourning and memorializing. Far from being 'invisible', the authors show how past generations, dead friends and lovers remain manifest - through well-worn garments, letters, photographs, flowers, residual drops of perfume, funerary sculpture. Tracing the rituals, gestures and materials that have been used to shape and preserve memories of personal loss, Hallam and Hockey show how material culture provides the deceased with a powerful presence within the here and now.
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9.

Dying to Live: Near-Death Experiences » Read Now
by Susan J. Blackmore. 308 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library

Opinion has long been divided over Near-Death Experiences, or NDEs, some presenting them as evidence for the existence of the soul and life after death, others arguing that they are merely the chemical and physiological products of a dying brain. Susan Blackmore has interviewed many people who claim...
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Opinion has long been divided over Near-Death Experiences, or NDEs, some presenting them as evidence for the existence of the soul and life after death, others arguing that they are merely the chemical and physiological products of a dying brain. Susan Blackmore has interviewed many people who claim to have had NDEs, and after researching hundreds of case histories she offers an absorbing and detailed review of this fascinating and controversial phenomenon. While presenting clear physical explanations for the changes that take place within the brain, Blackmore argues that true spiritual transformation comes not from searching after a spirit or soul that survives death, but from reinterpreting the concept of "self" itself. Dying to Live succeeds in bridging the gap between the scientific and the spiritual points of view and shows how an understanding of NDEs can help us live our lives in the face of death and lead the way to genuine self-knowledge.
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10.

Last Rights: The Struggle over the Right to Die » Read Now
by Sue Woodman. 240 pgs.

Collections: Entire Library

Second only to abortion in its incendiary power, the right to die is hotly debated by lawmakers, medical ethicists, and editorial writers across the country. It is a profound issue of conscience and quality of life that directly touches anyone with a terminally ill family member or who personally...
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Second only to abortion in its incendiary power, the right to die is hotly debated by lawmakers, medical ethicists, and editorial writers across the country. It is a profound issue of conscience and quality of life that directly touches anyone with a terminally ill family member or who personally suffers a chronic or terminal illness.
An up-to-the-minute examination of the right-to-die movement and the medical, ethical, legal, and social issues surrounding euthanasia, Last Rights reveals the stories behind the headlines -- both high profile and lesser known -- through stirring personal testimonies. Airing the views of activists and opponents alike, Woodman considers the complex questions that will continue to engage us for as long as we live and die.
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11.

The Life and Death Debate: Moral Issues of Our Time » Read Now
by J. P. Moreland, Norman L. Geisler. 174 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Entire Library

This work is an introductory treatment of issues and options in social and bioethics which center on the end of life. The purpose of Moreland and Geisler's book is to offer a beginning survey of these issues to someone unfamiliar with philosophy. The book simplifies and summarizes various...
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This work is an introductory treatment of issues and options in social and bioethics which center on the end of life. The purpose of Moreland and Geisler's book is to offer a beginning survey of these issues to someone unfamiliar with philosophy. The book simplifies and summarizes various end-of-life topics without being simplistic or caricaturing different viewpoints, even though the authors' own viewpoint is made perfectly clear. The major intention of this book is to make the reader think more clearly and deeply about the important issues discussed between its covers.
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12.

Fatal Freedom: The Ethics and Politics of Suicide » Read Now
by Thomas Szasz. 177 pgs.

Collections: Philosophy, Psychology, Entire Library

Fatal Freedom is an eloquent defense of every individual's right to choose a voluntary death. The author, a renowned psychiatrist, believes that we can speak about suicide calmly and rationally, as he does in this book, and that we can ultimately accept suicide as part of the human condition. By...
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Fatal Freedom is an eloquent defense of every individual's right to choose a voluntary death. The author, a renowned psychiatrist, believes that we can speak about suicide calmly and rationally, as he does in this book, and that we can ultimately accept suicide as part of the human condition. By maintaining statutes that determine that voluntary death is not legal, our society is forfeiting one of its basic freedoms and causing the psychiatric/medical establishment to treat individuals in a manner that is disturbingly inhumane according to Dr. Szasz. His important work asks and points to clear, intelligent answers to some of the most significant ethical questions of our time: BL Is suicide a voluntary act? BL Should physicians be permitted to prevent it? BL Should they be authorized to abet it? The author's thoughtful analysis of these questions consistently holds forth patient autonomy as paramount; therefore, he argues, patients should not be prevented from exercising their free will, nor should physicians be permitted to enter the process by prescribing or providing the means for voluntary death.
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13.

Death Anxiety and Clinical Practice » Read Now
by Robert Langs. 270 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library

Argues that death anxiety is neglected - in part, because of treatment failures due to countertransference interferences during treatment. Langs then discusses the technical issues connected with this, whilst introducing the controversial concept that mental activities are derived from immune system activities.
14.

Children and Death: Perspectives from Birth through Adolescence » Read Now
by John E. Schowalter, Penelope Buschman, Paul R. Patterson, Austin H. Kutscher, Margot Tallmer, Robert G. Stevenson, Jeanne D. Cole. 232 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library

Bringing together the views of numerous distinguished scholars, Children and Death investigates the child's concept of death from both academic and clinical points of view. The contributors have aimed at developing practical guidelines for a multidisciplinary approach to the care and support of the...
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Bringing together the views of numerous distinguished scholars, Children and Death investigates the child's concept of death from both academic and clinical points of view. The contributors have aimed at developing practical guidelines for a multidisciplinary approach to the care and support of the dying child, the child's family unit, and staff who work with dying children. The findings presented here are also applicable to care of children with life-threatening illness. Topics discussed include: children's concepts of death; emotional impact of disease; perspectives on children's death and dying; and coping with a child's death.
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15.

Death Work: Police, Trauma, and the Psychology of Survival » Read Now
by Vincent E. Henry. 396 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library

Contemporary urban police officers are routinely exposed to the death of others, as well as to frequent and profound encounters with their own mortality. Here, Vincent Henry draws on two disparate bodies of theory and research - policing and the psychology of human responses to death - to illuminate...
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Contemporary urban police officers are routinely exposed to the death of others, as well as to frequent and profound encounters with their own mortality. Here, Vincent Henry draws on two disparate bodies of theory and research - policing and the psychology of human responses to death - to illuminate how officers and their subculture are shaped by exposures to death. Through extensive field observation and structured interviews with NYPD officers, Henry defines and distinguishesthe range and types of exposures to death in four "task environments": the rookie cop, patrol sergeant, homicide detective, and crime scene technician. He differentiates the officers' experience from others involved in death work, such as doctors, soldiers, and rescue workers, by exploring theirsingular occupational culture - the potential for violent death, the ritual of police funerals, strong in-group solidarity. Ultimately, the book reveals patterns of psychological transformation and social consequences of police encounters with death. Henry identifies common themes, including psychic numbing, the death imprint image, suspicion of counterfeit nurturance, death guilt, and the quest to make meaning. With a foreword by Robert Jay Lifton and a chapter devoted to the local policeresponse to the World Trade Center attacks, Death Work will be of interest to psychologists and criminal justice experts, as well as police officers eager to gain insight into their unique relationship to death.
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16.

Death of a Parent: Transition to a New Adult Identity » Read Now
by Debra Umberson. 255 pgs.

Collections: Psychology, Entire Library

In the midst of the busiest years of our lives and careers, just as many of us are beginning to confront our own aging, we are likely to lose a parent--and as commonplace, even expected, as any such event may be, the reperscussions can be dramatic. This book sets out in clear and comprehensive terms...
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In the midst of the busiest years of our lives and careers, just as many of us are beginning to confront our own aging, we are likely to lose a parent--and as commonplace, even expected, as any such event may be, the reperscussions can be dramatic. This book sets out in clear and comprehensive terms what the death of a parent means to most adults--how it in fact functions as a turning point in our emotional, social, and personal lives. Drawing on her own groundbreaking research, in-depth interviews, and data collected nationwide, Debra Umberson explores the social and psychological factors that determine how this important loss will affect us--as a personal crisis or an opportunity for healthy change. Her book shows how adults, far from the "finished" beings we are often assumed to be, can be profoundly transformed by the death of a parent--in beliefs, behavior, goals, sense of self--transformed in ways that will continue to affect us, for better or worse, for the rest of our lives. Debra Umberson is Professor and Chair of Sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the only scholar to have published on the topic of parental death in adulthood using national data, and her resume includes 36 published articles and chapters in leading academic journals and books on family and health topics. Dr. Umberson has received many awards. She won an award for her research for Death of a Parent from FIRST Award from the National Institute on Aging. Umberson's newest research, which is also sponsored by the National Institute of Aging, focuses on how marital quality changes over the life course. Umberson is currently serving as an elected officer of both the Mental Health Section and the Medical Sociology Section of the American Sociological Association (the national professional association of sociologists in the United States). She has served as deputy editor of the Journal of Health and Social Behavior and associate editor of the Journal of Family Issues. She is currently associate editor of Journal of Marriage and the Family.
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