Topic > The Anthropology of Death: From Past to Present

According to Emile Durkheim, religion refers to unified beliefs and practices that come together into one simple moral community. In the realm of religion, my main topic centers on death. In physiological terms death means that everyone will die early, late or accidentally, that's why death shows that life is uncertain. A researcher like Durkheim who studies religion demonstrates by conducting various field research that every society has a religion that can explain and have a different perception of death. Anthropology is the study of people and their culture. When it comes to observing death, anthropology seeks to learn and explore how past and present societies respond to death. Death is considered important in the field of anthropology as humans have to deal with it and the researcher is trying to understand how different groups in society deal with death and their attitude towards death. Therefore, the following paragraph is about the historical description of death and the author's perspective towards death. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay Religious beliefs and practices of death have changed dramatically throughout human history. This can be explained in modern times where death at a young age has decreased due to advanced medical practice. This medical practice has played a beneficial role in the life of human beings, perhaps their attitude towards death has changed. This can be understood when a particular person suffers from an illness and is finally cured with the help of medical treatments it can make another person feel that there is no chance of dying soon. Consequently in primitive times the process of dying or encountering death appears painful and frequent as many ancient societies feared death because they have a common belief that death is unnatural and random. On the other hand, one society fears death while other societies have no fear and actually overcome it. Particular societies perceive and manipulate death not as the end of life, rather our body leaves the world but the soul is reborn in various forms, both in the animal world and in the human world. Furthermore, their perception of death has changed and it can be understood that humans accept death as a collective fate, which means that the feelings and situations they experience regarding death are probably shared within a group of people . They were concerned about their own death as well as creates social awareness of the death of others. Philippe Aries argues that the modern hospital is an "absolutely new type of death". This can be explained in relation to the past and present where people have completely lost control over their own deaths. Thousands of years ago, death was a time when all deceased family members embraced the positive aspects of caregiving while respecting each other's feelings and emotions and considered it the best time to spend with friends and family. Before the departure of the deceased he will give positive advice and life orders. However, in the modern era, the death of news has been the lesser concern as it has become a time of machines continuing to die in ignorance of their condition, in a sterile room, away from public attention. In those times death was focused more on the community where everything was shared. Now the focus of death is personal. The author argues that from the beginning of the Christian century to the Middle Ages the pledge of eternity shaped the consideration of death while in the Middle Ages, adue to the modernization of culture, ultimately leads to a decline in the pledge of eternity. Death can be met when the heartbeat and brainstem no longer function. When it comes to twenty-first century advancements, there are complications between life and death not only in terms of social and religious understanding, but also through technological advancement. From social to religious point of view, people consider the cause of death as part of life, committing suicide or experiencing different circumstances, however from the point of view of technological progress, death is caused by an increase in blood pressure or suffering from different types of diseases. So, there are different types of outcomes when it comes to different death prospects. Death is complicated and difficult to understand when it comes to humanities and social sciences, at the same time there is general agreement between different disciplines. For example, philosophy or psychology focuses on the themes and explanations of various topics while anthropologists focus on the various socio-cultural and religious practices that mediate death and maintain the continuity of a social group. Above all, anthropological approaches tend to understand people's beliefs and practices that shape and understand life and respond to death. Likewise, when individual people die, society and culture manage the moral perspective between generations and the understanding of how death is discussed across cultural traditions and religious practice. According to Philippe Aries, the Western historical perspective towards death can be understood in four historical phases. The first is known as “tamed death,” which means that death is part of life and is natural. Death was a community event, meaning that all family members or friends sat near the dying person. The second stage is "one's death", which means that living and dying becomes one's own experience. In the third phase Aries describes death as "Your death", explaining that death is dramatized in literature and art by conducting rituals and mourning the death. Finally, the third phase, at the beginning of the 20th century, refers to “forbidden death,” which means that death is connected to an unpleasant emotion. Therefore, medical progress shifts many cultural beliefs associated with religion. When a medical advancement fails to heal a body, an individual is left without the knowledge of spirituality to cope due to the dominance of modern technology. Today, death is often experienced in hospital. In this situation the social agreements are those that address the issue of death. On the other hand, Robert Bluaner supports death as a biological phenomenon that strongly affects every human society. He compares the premodern death society to industrial society. This further explains that in industrial society, there is large-scale production of goods and services. However, migration leads to the collapse of agriculture and maintains a distance between family members. Consequently, the author tries to argue that industrial societies lead to death in modern life. He also argues that death is like a job in retirement, meaning that people who retire from work are more likely to die due to old age and health conditions. Both authors have a different perspective on where Aris talks about the historical perspective of death and on one hand Bluaner connects death to industry. Please note: this is just an example. Get a custom paper from our expert writers now. Get Custom EssayIn conclusion historical description is important in the field of anthropology in.