Publication | Closed Access
Whose dying? A sociological critique of the 'good death'
231
Citations
0
References
1998
Year
Palliative CareNursingHumanitiesExistentialismSocial AnthropologyEnd-of-life CareHospice MovementEnd-of-life Issue'Good DeathMedical HistoryThanatologyMourningCritical TheoryLanguage StudiesMedicineDeath StudiesGood DeathHospice
The good death concept, defined by dignity, peacefulness, preparedness, awareness, adjustment, and acceptance, has become dominant, leading to labeling patients as “good” or “bad” and influencing caregivers’ actions. This paper describes and analyses the “good death” ideology, central to hospice practice, and argues that it legitimises a new form of social control that dictates socially approved dying behaviours. The authors trace the development of the “good death” concept from Ariès through Kübler‑Ross to contemporary sociological contributions. The study finds that the “good death” ideology dominates social management of dying in hospice and beyond, legitimising a new form of social control that constrains choices through proscribed, normalized behaviours.
This paper aims to describe and analyse the ideology of the 'good death'; an ideology central to the modern hospice movement and underpinning many of the challenges to the medical management of dying and death. The development of the concept of the 'good death' will be traced from the work of the French historian, Ariès, through the influential writings of Kübler-Ross, to the contemporary contributions within the sociology of dying and death. The good death concept now holds a diversity of definitions and meanings that unify around the ideal of dying with dignity, peacefulness, preparedness, awareness, adjustment and acceptance. The paper has as a central concern the dominance of the 'good death' ideology, leading to the labelling of 'good' and 'bad' patients, and consequent attempts by caregivers to shape the lives of dying people. This paper suggests that the ideology of the good death legitimates a new form of social control within which socially approved dying and death are characterized by proscribed and normalized behaviours and choices. This ideology dominates the social management of dying and death within the hospice movement and increasingly within the broader community, and powerfully constrains the choices of dying people.