The Evolution Of Attitudes Towards Death Throughout History

The modern society has adopted an ignorance-based outlook on death. Academics have suggested that the modern west has turned into an environment of ignorance, denial and incompetence when it comes to issues relating death. This has led to much debate around the claim that modern western society denies death. Historical analysis reveals the changes in attitudes towards death that have been influenced by industrialization and capitalism. When assessing the degree of death denial in modern society, it is important to examine individualism, commoditization and medicalization (Calhoun and al. 2012).

The past was not able to see death as being restricted and inhibited as much as today. Many people believe that society today rejects death. This is because death was seen as an essential part of life and it was futile to deny its existence. Philippe Aries (1914-1984), a historian, studied the evolution of Western society’s views on death. It was concluded that there were four distinct periods in the history of human perceptions about death and humanity. Aries claims the death concept has been a constant in Aries’s thinking for millennia. In an ever-changing world, the traditional outlook on death seemed like an obstacle to progress and indolence. Aries recognized the commonalities between the three first periods, which spanned more than a thousand years ago and the nineteenth-century. These periods did not evolve in a single day, but took many centuries.

Aries named his first period “tame death” in the middle of the Middle Ages. This was the age when death was a normal part of daily life. Although people didn’t wish to die, it was commonplace. To prepare for the inevitable, rituals were often used. The next period, or “One’s own Death”, covers the late Middle Ages to Renaissance. It spans the 11th through the 15th centuries. This thought process was similar to the first. The belief that there is a short life and that it will end with death was the reason rituals were performed. This was mainly due to beliefs about life’s worth and the fact that one’s actions would be judged by others and have an influence on the afterlife. It was now considered a period of awakening and appreciation for the reality of death before it happened. The third period, which began in the eighteenth century, was named ‘Thy Death’. The concept of death changed dramatically during this period. The ‘other’ became the focus of concern, creating relationships and connections with the deceased (Kellehear 2008). There was a reluctance for loved ones to go, which created an emotion that surrounds death that is not seen before. Graves became more open to mourning and were able to accommodate this. The idea of death moved from the dying to those left behind.

The fourth epoch, with its ideals and influences continuing to influence the 20th century, is seen as dominating the 20th century. According to Aries, such times are characterized by wild and illicit death. The social control of death is so far removed it is no longer a personal experience. Because of the notions of riskmanagement, death has been quietly eroded and dismissed to protect society’s sanctity and psychological wellbeing.

Aries is a sign that promotes sanitation and cleanliness in harmony with the ignorance of the death caused by the protection from happiness. It is clear that “rapid advancements in comfort, privacy and personal hygiene have made people more sensitive.” No longer can our senses tolerate the sights, smells and sounds that were commonplace in early nineteenth-century life. The physical consequences of death have now been imposed upon the bodies of those around them, as well as the dying. Ideals of death are now viewed as an indecent and grimy occurrence. In the 1930’s, the dying were first removed from society and put in these settings. This was done in order to conceal the griefs of the deceased and keep them from being exposed to wider society. Certain workforces (i.e. Hospitals, funeral directors and care homes are among the few people who have the ability to deal with death. What is called medicalisation has led to death becoming sterilized and procedurally documented, creating an isolation from the rest of society.

Society’s ideals now require that the horrible tarnish and stains that are associated with death be removed from civilisation. Aries believes life is modernized because it ignores the pain of suffering and allows for ignorance to be ignored. The protection of death is a fundamental value in today’s society. Socialization teaches children how to view death and what it means. Their biological autonomy is given up in favor of the modern philosophies and symbol systems that will immerse them into a culture of cultural immortality. This led to the concealment and hiding of pain, aching hurts, sorrows, and other emotions that result from grief related to dying. They are covered with a veil to prevent them from being too obvious.

Becker defines socialization (Becker 2014) as the practice of deception. He explains that it is hiding one’s true destiny behind a false sense or immortality. This is the idea of social neurosis, which is shared among society by irrational thoughts that cheat death. Although this is possible in some areas, a thorough examination of modern societies and cultures will show that this ideal of death denial is not supported. This is not the case in many Western cultures. They have different beliefs, practices and rituals regarding death. This essay does not have the space to discuss these practices in detail, but they might be used to raise doubts about the validity or credibility of the death denial claim.

Aries, Dastur and others argue that the meaning of death has been altered over the past several decades. Death is now less concrete and can now be made more flexible to be avoided or alleviated. “Death has been deemed an unnatural, essential phenomenon.” With medicalization, death and illness are now considered ‘objective’ phenomena rather than fundamental human characteristics. A major change in the way people view death has been the refusal to be present to it or to watch it happen. Modern society views the ideal death as old age in their sleep. It is common to administer medication to the dying to mask their pain and alert them to the fact that they are near death. Walter (2008) contends that medicine doesn’t intentionally remove the emotion of death from public discourse. It fails to be able to feel empathy for the private, family-related pain. The holistic palliative approach is attempting to provide a personalized, caring attention during the entire medical process.

Medicalisation is a science that has led to a new technological approach. Many theorists have linked it directly to society’s inability to deny death. Technology failures in saving the body are now seen as the reason for death. The ideology of death prevention by preserving life is the dominant view of health care systems. These ideologies are now raising ethical questions (Zimmermann & Rodin 2004, 121-128). It is a poor practice to insist on control when it comes to preventing death for those without hope. It is important to distinguish between prolonging life and prolonging the death process. These forms of malpractice are often criticized. However, laws regarding medicalisation vary from one place to another. Oregon provides assisted suicide for those who need it. This denial stems also from the fact that states and governments have the power to kill as a means of controlling society. This is the final form of control. It can be seen as corporal punishment, the illegalization or euthanasia of suicide. Everybody lives under the state’s control.

But, while there are many links to medicalization that support a society of death denialists, a small shift of perspective may also be necessary. If scientific findings are so solidly supported, then the denial that death can be denied would seem abnormal. Science has proven that death is inevitable. Society accepts it through the use of medicine to prolong lives (Pearson 1991). Medicalization can be used to control the death process and reduce or prevent prolonged suffering. This control is limited and acceptable only after all technological interventions have been made.

The dying may have additional quarrels with the living. They are trying to convince them that they will be able to recover and lead a normal life. This statement can be used to deny the death or the suffering of another person, but it can also be used as a defense mechanism and a way of providing comfort for those left behind. Becker (2014). After accepting their fate, the dying will use their last moments as a way to console their loved ones who will need to cope with their passing. The living are more comfortable discussing death than the people who will soon be dying.

Medicalization allows society to attempt to stop death. In this way, it gives the culture a sense that medicalization is heroic. People can look at this fight for lives as heroes, fighting evil in order to live a moral life. This provides purpose and meaning to people’s life, while also creating an atmosphere of superiority that is otherworldly and separating humans from their mortal animals. Becker’s assertion of existential tension is true, but it is important to note that religion in today’s scientific realism tends to not be the main topic of discussion regarding medicalization. Thus, claims and ideas concerning godliness and God are not viewed as reflecting the wider world view. Through medicalization and other efforts to save one’s life, Western culture has a sense that there is resolution and determination. However, this is not due to misplaced notions that immortality, but capitalism as well as the commoditization of the self through institutionalization of work practices. Weber’s concept of rationalism illustrates the modern economy as a bureaucratic organisation that employs systematic accounting methods to evaluate profit and determine worth. People work now not only for survival, but also for the possibility of their own death. Capitalism has created a new form of consumerism, which is another manifestation of the State’s power over citizens’ lives and death. This society is now a reality. It has been adapted from Max Weber’s “Iron Cage” Theory. Increased rationalisation has led to the entrapment of individuals in systems and processes within society that focus solely on technological productivity, rational designs, and the control of the dominant body.

The individualization and secularization of society are closely related to the medicalization death. Weber considers this a form ‘disenchantment of the world’ in which society is unable to comprehend its collective meanings as it was in the past. With the advent of capitalism, rationality, and the rise of individualism, society has moved from a communal system to one that relies on others. It was possible to privatize matters and thus eliminate the death site. Death during the Middle Ages used to be a matter of collective mourning. However, it has been segregated from society. It is now institutionalised. Modern society rarely sees people die at home. Most deaths are in hospitals or care homes. These places are often hidden from the public, and considered private matters of the dying.

This is a continuing practice despite changes in Western society’s rituals. Cemeteries are a place where the dead are kept together. This area can be ignored during daily life, but it can be recalled during grief times for some comfort. Embalming is an American practice that preserves the body of the deceased, giving them a temporary sense of eternal life. It preserves the façade of life, providing consolation for the family. Cremation was an accepted method of funeral service in Europe at the turn of the 20th century. Incineration of the dead is a completely different process to embalming. This eliminates all traces of the dead and doesn’t attempt to change them. The denial thesis is reinforced by the fact that the families are no longer required to visit the burial site after the funeral. The deceased have been completely eliminated from society, and are now only remembered in the past. These new methods of dealing the dead can be viewed as new rituals created by capitalism in some areas. These new rituals are not meant to be death denigrating, but to grieve the loss of loved ones and let go. As the rituals themselves are not what will make them remembered, but their spirit will live on through their family and friends, the dead will not be forgotten. The new ways of mourning and accepting death may have been privatized by the development of self-awareness, reliance, and not being solely a death denial process.

The rise in scientific thought that resulted from the enlightenment created an ontological sense of insecurity that spread throughout society. Religion and faith were the only sources of security in the past. It was necessary to fill the gap left by the fall of religion in society. This is often referred to as the establishment or denial. The driving factors have changed, however, as you look closer at society’s advancements. Beck 1994 says that society now runs on a risk prevention basis. Individuals are now forced to consider the possibility that danger could arise at any given moment. This could be seen in all of the services, ceremonies, and processes that have been discussed. It could be said that society is not trying to deny their inevitable deaths, but rather doing everything they can to keep it from happening.