Thesis (D. Min.)--McCormick Theological Seminary, 2002. / Includes bibliographical references.

Diss. - Univ. of Chicago.

Thesis--University of Wisconsin--Madison. / Typescript. Vita. eContent provider-neutral record in process. Description based on print version record. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 165-176).

In this dissertation I consider the current controversy surrounding the definition of death in certain rare situations which arise in response to advances in medical technology. In relation to these, I criticise various approaches which seek a resolution to such problems, arguing that all of them involve unjustified and unexamined assumptions as to the nature of death, and other related concepts. In chapter 1, I introduce and define the nature of the problem, arguing that whilst the problem can be seen to spring from technological advances, these merely reveal an inherent ambiguity. In chapter 2, I examine the so-called 'strictly-biological approach', and argue that its premise (that we can treat death as a purely factual matter) is flawed. In chapter 3, I support this conclusion with a broader attack upon conceptual essentialism, of which the strictly-biological approach can be seen as a foremost example. I also argue that this means that the nature of the problem is one that is not amenable to the sort of conceptual analysis that many might use to resolve the problem. Chapter 4 looks at the idea that biological function - the central criterion of the strictly-biological approach - cannot be considered an intrinsic, mind-independent feature of the world (and therefore, neither can a strictly-biological definition of death). Chapters 5 and 6 look at non-strictly-biological attempts to define death (what I term 'partly-biological' views) - namely the capacity for consciousness and personal identity respectively - and argue that both these approaches, far from resolving the problem, merely shift it to a different ground. In chapter 7,1 present a different picture of death as an 'observer-relative' feature of the world (to use John Searle's terminology), and argue that the resolution of the problem must have more in common with practices (e.g. in sport) where similar ambiguities are occasionally faced. In chapter 8, I further explore the consequences of the observer-relative status of death, arguing that this means that a much wider degree of variance and mutability is possible in relation to the related concepts of 'self and 'death', and that certain religious viewpoints and scenarios in science-fiction literature embody just such a 'dialogue with death' and present us with what I term notions of 'the expanded self. Finally, I briefly outline some of the consequences of my arguments for medicine and public policy decisions, and suggest certain avenues for future research, arguing that rather than seeking to arrive at a single, unified definition of death, we should instead search for ways of coping with multiple parallel 'redefinitions' of death.

Magister Public Health - MPH / Cause of death certification continues to be a useful tool in obtaining demographic, epidemiological and legal information. However errors in death certification are widespread and range from incomplete certificates to inaccurate causes and manners of death. The accuracy of the immediate and underlying causes of death listed on the death certificate depends to a large extent on the doctor and his or her understanding of the guidelines for reporting immediate and underlying causes of death. In 1998, South Africa adopted a new death certificate as per the format proposed by WHO. However, several studies have identified problems in the quality of cause of death certification. Furthermore, analysis of cause of death data suggested extensive underreporting of HIV as an underlying cause of death. / South Africa

[no abstract included] / Arts, Faculty of / Social Work, School of / Graduate

This thesis explores the themes love and death in the fiction writing of J. D. Salinger.

No description available.

No description available.

Do people talk about death? Many scholars argue that people in our society do not talk about death; that it is taboo, it is denied or sequestered into hospitals and funeral homes and exists outside of everyday life. And yet, others argue that death is “a very badly kept secret” with hundreds of books published on the topic in the last few decades, most of them claiming that we cannot talk about death. This disconnect leads some to argue that there is a revival of death happening instead. My research sits at the nexus of this tension; I attended death cafés around Southern Ontario to explore the dialogues that emerge in spaces set out to break the presumed taboo around death. At a death café people are meant to “drink tea, eat cake, and talk about death.” The objective of these events is “to increase awareness of death with a view to helping people make the most of their finite lives.” This statement, from the official death café website, assumes that facing death will help to make sense of, and give perspective to, life. I explore how and if death cafés accomplish their intended purpose of encouraging existential discussion, and if such a discussion was in fact beneficial to the attendees. I argue that the discussions at the death cafés I attended did not seem to fulfill the purpose stated on the website of encouraging existential discussion about one’s own death. I then situate this observation in the context of broader understandings of the denial of death thesis generally and in terms of residual Victorian romanticism and attachment to others. / Thesis / Master of Arts (MA) / Is death denied or revived in contemporary western society? Many people believe that death is a taboo subject, and to break this taboo people have hosted death cafés, which are pop up events where people are meant to talk about death. My research involved attending death cafés around southern Ontario to find out what happens at death cafés: who attends and what is talked about. Much of the literature in the social sciences on death and dying focuses on institutional settings where death is present, or focuses on how death is coped with in “other” cultures. This thesis explores how people think about death in casual settings where death is not immediately present.