Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-28T01:11:03.829Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Journey of struggle: Kalothanasia and the hospice way of dying

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  28 September 2010

Ciroaugusto Floriani  and
Fermin Roland Schramm
Ciroaugusto Floriani*
Affiliation:
Bioethics Council, Brazilian National Cancer Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
Fermin Roland Schramm
Affiliation:
Bioethics Council, Brazilian National Cancer Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil Researcher of Applied Ethics and Bioethics, National School of Public Health Sérgio Arouca, Oswaldo Cruz Foundation, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
*
Address correspondence and reprint requests to: Ciro Augusto Floriani, Rua Erotides de Oliveira, 44/1003, Niterói, Rio de Janeiro 24230-230, Brazil. E-mail: ciroafloriani@gmail.com
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to characterize the notion of a “good death” both historically and conceptually, grounding the philosophy of the modern hospice movement. This concept encompasses elements originating in ancient societies, such as peasant societies, where death was prepared for and shared socially, with ethical and aesthetic elements originating from Ancient Greece. These Greek elements emerged from a “journey of struggle” and can be recognized in the current day as a journey to cope with illness. From this conceptualization emerged a category of “good death” (kalothanasia), adding to the expertise of advocates of the modern hospice movement, who seek to revive a process of dying that is socially ritualized. However, this is challenging in the setting of a medical practice that is constantly incorporating new technology, in accordance with its present bio-techno-scientific paradigm, and in a medical scenario that identifies itself with the continued and persistent use of new technologies.

Keywords

Attitude to deathBioethicsGood deathHospice movementPalliative careTerminal care
Type
Review Articles
Information
Palliative & Supportive Care , Volume 8 , Issue 4 , December 2010 , pp. 461 - 468
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2010

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Bauman, Z. (1992). Mortality, Immortality and Other Life Strategies. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Berta, P. (2001). Two faces of the culture of death: Relationship between grief work and Hungarian peasant soul beliefs. Journal of Loss and Trauma, 6, 83–113.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bourgeois, S. & Johnson, A. (2004). Preparing for dying: Meaningful practices in Palliative Care. Omega, 49, 99–107.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bowling, A. (2000). Research on dying is scanty. British Medical Journal, 320, 1205–1206.Google Scholar
Bradshaw, A. (1996). The spiritual dimension of hospice: The secularization of an ideal. Social Science & Medicine, 43, 409–419.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Breitbart, W. (2006). The goals of palliative care: Beyond symptom control. Palliative & Supportive Care, 4, 1–2.Google Scholar
Brungardt, G. (2009). Teaching The Death of Ivan Ilych: A guide of introducing Tolstoy's classic. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 12, 679–682.Google Scholar
Byock, I.R. (1996). The nature of suffering and the nature of opportunity at the end of life. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 12, 237–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Callahan, D. (2000). The Troubled Dream of Life: In Search of a Peaceful Death. Washington, D.C.: Georgetown University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Car, D. (2003). A “good death” for whom? Quality of spouse's death and psychological distress among older widowed persons. Journal of Health and Social Behavior, 44, 215–232.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chochinov, H.M. (2006). Dying, dignity, and new horizons in palliative end-of-life care. CA Cancer Journal for Clinicians, 56, 84–103.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Clark, D. & Seymour, J.E. (2002). Reflections on Palliative Care. Philadelphia: Open University Press.Google Scholar
Clark, D. (1998). Originating a movement: Cicely Saunders and the development of St. Christopher's Hospice, 1957–1967. Mortality, 3, 43–63.Google Scholar
Emanuel, E.J. & Emanuel, L.L. (1998). The promise of a good death. Lancet, 351 (Suppl. II), 21–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
European Association of Palliative Care Task Force. (2003). Euthanasia and physician-assisted suicide: A view from an EAPC Ethics Task Force. European Journal of Palliative Care, 10, 63–66.Google Scholar
Field, D. (1996). Awareness and modern dying. Mortality, 1, 255–265.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Field, M.J. & Cassel, C.K. (1977). Approaching Death: Improving Care at the End of Life. Washington, D.C.: Institute of Medicine.Google Scholar
Floriani, C.A. & Schramm, F.R. (2010). How might Levinas' concept of the other's priority and Derrida's unconditional hospitality contribute to the philosophy of the modern hospice movement? Palliative and Supportive Care, 8, 215–220..Google Scholar
Ganstal, A.I. (2003). Good death may be possible in emergency departments. British Medical Journal, 327, 1048.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gobry, I. (2007). Vocabulário Grego da Filosofia. São Paulo: Martins Fontes.Google Scholar
Grogono, J. (2000). Sharing control in death: The role of “amicus mortis.” British Medical Journal, 320, 1205.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Henig, R.M. (2005). Will we ever arrive at the good death? New York Times Magazine, August 7, p. 26.Google Scholar
Hennezel, M. (2001). La mort intime. Paris: Èdition Robert Laffont.Google Scholar
Hennezel, M. (2004). A Morte Intima: Aqueles que Vão Morrer nos Ensinam a Viver. Aparecida: Idéias & Letras.Google Scholar
Kellehear, A. (1990). Dying of Cancer: The Final Year of Life. Chur: Harwood Academic Publisher.Google Scholar
Kellehear, A. (2007). A Social History of Dying. Melbourne: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kübler-Ross, E. (1969). On Death and Dying. New York: Macmillan.Google Scholar
Kübler-Ross, E. (1987). Sobre a Morte e o Morrer. São Paulo: Martins Fontes.Google Scholar
Levinas, E. (2000). God, Death, and Time. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
McNamara, B., Waddell, C. & Colvi, M. (1995). Threats to the good death: The cultural context of stress and coping among hospice nurses. Sociology of Health & Illness, 17, 222–244.Google Scholar
Menezes, R.A. (2004). Em Busca da Boa Morte: Antropologia dos Cuidados Paliativos. Rio de Janeiro: Editora Fiocruz/Garamond.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Morin, E. (1970). O Homem e a Morte. Mem-Martins: Publicações Europa-América.Google Scholar
Morin, E. (1970). L'Homme et la Mort, Paris: Editions du Seuil.Google Scholar
Neuberger, J. (2003). A healthy view of dying. British Medical Journal, 327, 207–208.Google Scholar
Pierce, S.F. (1999). Improving end-of-life care: Gathering suggestions from family members. Nursing Forum, 34, 5–14.Google Scholar
Platão, (2006). O banquete. Rio de Janeiro: DIFEL.Google Scholar
Prigerson, S.C. & Bradley, E.H. (2003). A good death is an oxymoron without consideration of mental health. British Medical Journal, 327, 222.Google Scholar
Rodrigues, J.C. (1983). Tabu da Morte. Rio de Janeiro: Achiamé.Google Scholar
Santina, C.D. & Bernstein, R.H. (2004). Whole-patient assessment, goal planning, and inflection points: Their role in achieving quality end-of-life care. Clinics in Geriatric Medicine, 20, 595–620.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saunders, Y., Ross, J.R. & Riley, J. (2003). Planning for a good death: Responding to unexpected events. British Medical Journal, 327, 204–206.Google Scholar
Schisler, E.L. (2003). Besieged by death - immersed in grief: Death and bereavement in Brazil. In Death and Bereavement Around the World, Volume 2, The Americas, Morgan, J.D. & Laungani, P. (eds.). pp. 121–136. Amityville: Bauwood Publishing Company.Google Scholar
Seale, C. (1995). Heroic death. Sociology, 29, 597–613.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seale, C. (2001). Sporting cancer: Struggle language in news reports of people with cancer. Sociology of Health & Illness, 23, 308–329.Google Scholar
Singer, P.A. & MacDonald, N. (1999). Quality end-of-life care. In Bioethics at the Bedside: A Clinician's Guide, Singer, P.A. (ed.). pp. 117–122. Ottawa: Canadian Medical Association.Google Scholar
Sloterdijk, P. (2009). Derrida, um Egípcio. São Paulo: Estação Liberdade.Google Scholar
Smith, R. (2000). A good death. British Medical Journal, 320, 129–130.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Soares, C. (2002). A morte: critério de felicidade nas Histórias de Heródoto. Humanitas, LIV, 117–164.Google Scholar
Soares, C. (2003). A Morte em Heródoto: Valores Universais e Particularismos Etnicos. Coimbra: Fundação Calouste Gulbenkian.Google Scholar
Steinhauser, K.E., Christakis, N.A., Clipp, E.C., et al. (2000). Factors considered important at the end of life by patients, family, physicians, and other care providers. Journal of the American Medical Association, 284, 2476–2482.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
The SUPPORT Principal Investigators. (1995). The study to understand prognoses and preferences for outcomes and risks of treatments. Journal of the American Medical Association, 274, 1591–1598.Google Scholar
Thomas, M. & Day, R. (2000). Quality of death can be measured outside hospices. British Medical Journal, 320, 1206.Google Scholar
Tolstóy, L. (1991). A Morte de Ivan Ilitch e Outras Histórias. São Paulo: Editora Paulicéia.Google Scholar
Webber, M. (1999). The Good Death: The New American Search to Reshape the End of Life. New York: Bantam Books.Google Scholar
Weisman, A.D. & Hackett, T.P. (1961). Predilection to death: Death and dying as a psychiatric problem. Psychosomatic Medicine, XXIII, 232–256.Google Scholar
Wright, M., Wood, J., Lynch, T., et al. (2008). Mapping levels of palliative care development: A global view. Journal of Pain and Symptom Management, 35, 469–485.Google Scholar
Young-Mason, J. (1988). Tolstoi's The Death of Ivan Ilych: A source of understanding compassion. Clinical Nurse Specialist, 2, 180–183.CrossRefGoogle Scholar