Coping with Choices to Die
This book examines the reactions of the friends and family of those who elect to die due to terminal illness. These surviving spouses, partners, relatives, and friends, in addition to coping with the death of a loved one, must also deal with the loved one’s decision to die, thus severing the relationship. C. G. Prado examines how reactions to elective death are influenced by cultural influences and beliefs, particularly those related to life, death, and the possibility of an afterlife. Understanding the role of these cultural influences on the grieving processes of survivors is a crucial step in allowing them to accept both intellectually and emotionally the finality of elective death and to deal with the decision of their loved one.
- Develops the contrast between iconic and coincidental cultures introduced in Choosing to Die (Cambridge University Press, 2008)
- Introduces the analytical concept of 'experience-organizing narratives' or 'EONs' as determinants of individuals' perspectives and attitudes
- Considers the role of belief in an afterlife in elective-death decisions
Reviews & endorsements
"....C. G. Prado offers a philosophical treatise of the reactions of loved ones (referred to as "survivors") of persons who elect to die due to terminal illness (referred to as "electors").... He explores how the surviving family and friends deal with the ill person's decision to die, particularly with regard to the severed relationships that result. The attention to survivors in this book is unique, and justified, according to Prado, because the survivor role is distinctive.... the book provides a helpful complement to the literature on decision making by the terminally ill, assisted suicide and euthanasia, and the grief process for survivors.... This book has the potential to be an essential reference for clinical ethicists, patients, and their families and friends...."
--Felicia Cohn, University of California, Notre Dame Philosophical Reviews
"....On the whole, this book should interest persons involved in medical ethics and
end-of-life care. The style is somewhat scholastic and rigid. Helpful index and extensive bibliography.... Recommended...."
--H. J. John, emerita, Trinity University (DC), CHOICE
Product details
September 2010Adobe eBook Reader
9780511904370
0 pages
0kg
This ISBN is for an eBook version which is distributed on our behalf by a third party.
Table of Contents
- Preface: emotions, feelings, and thoughts Wesley Boston
- 1. Laying the groundwork
- 2. Feelings: their influences and control
- 3. Culture's elusive role
- 4. Revising the criterion for rational elective death
- 5. Two philosophical challenges
- 6. Survivors' responses
- 7. Accepting finality
- Appendix: belief in an afterlife.