Dlaczego śmierć może być dobra
Why death can be good

Author(s): Łucja Lange
Subject(s): Social Sciences, Philosophical Traditions, Social Philosophy, History of Psychology, Psychology of Self
Published by: Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego
Keywords: death; grief; death positive movement; thanatology; death studies
Summary/Abstract: The publication Why Death Can Be Good fits into the interdisciplinary trend of death studies, making a significant contribution to the reflection on how individuals and communities experience the loss of bonds, give them meaning through symbolic processing, and embed them within cultural and social structures. The author uses a posthumanist perspective that goes beyond the traditional, anthropocentric way of understanding death and mourning—as an experience available in a conscious and sentient way only to human beings. At the center of the considerations is an attempt to redefine death as a phenomenon that is not only inevitable, but also potentially good—enabling transformation and cultural reworking. Death and mourning are presented here as processes that are, on the one hand, psychologically individualized, and on the other—strongly socially conditioned. The author emphasizes that their analysis requires taking into account the social context: applicable norms, gender roles, rites of passage and dominant narratives regarding dying. This approach allows us to go beyond the dominant psychological models that view mourning as a universal process inscribed in stages or phases, and to see its cultural diversity and the socially regulated framework for experiencing loss. The publication has both cognitive value, important for researchers dealing with the subject of death, and practical value—especially for people working in the areas of social welfare, education, palliative medicine or hospice care. The book sensitizes us to the need to restore mourning to its rightful place in social reflection and community practices.

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