Death and Dying - Research Paper Example

Task: Death and Dying Perceptions of death and dying among different people depend on their religious affiliations and beliefs. It is admissible that diverse religions have varying notions about morality and how it relates to death, dying and what happens after an individual dies. Morality is a central principal requirement that defines humanity as provided by several religions. Both Christianity and Islamic religions subscribe to the necessity for the living to embrace morality during their lifetime. The two religions attach the living human’s moral conduct as determinants to their destiny after death. Death in the two religions is a fulfillment of thee religious writings and doctrines that guide human conduct. The ultimate position that the dead acquire after death, according to the two religions, are determined during their lifetime. Death is attainable before one actually dies in the physical sense. To learn the concept of death while one has physical life constitutes a core consideration as a skill of life. An individual needs to ensure reforms as a living entity and to accommodate the understanding and perception of death. The art of dying while an individual is alive differs with various religions. Different religions have diverse conceptions of the art of death before physical demise. In as much as death comes after life and end of existence of the soul according to Islam and Christianity religions, life itself presents a platform for preparation for death. In both religions, the process of dying presents an opportunity for the individual to develop and heal. Every religion holds dissimilar perception about death. Most religious beliefs on the notions of death and dying believed that death was a transition from one from of life to another form. Knowledge of death and fate after death serves to regulate the conduct of believers in both the Islamic and Christianity religions, for instance. Death education, according to Mak, is effective since it offers guidance to students to relate and appreciate diverse perceptions and notions to death (175). Foucault’s notion of knowledge of the self, for instance is important in explaining different concepts that relate to death. According to Foucault, there is a great lack of morality among society members. Foucault proposes the need to revert to ethics promoted by the Greek cultures in pursuit of ensuring the restoration of morality in the society. The promotion of ethics in Greek related to the advocate of the will to have a beautiful form of life. The need to ensure a beautiful form of life presents the best way to renew the lost ethical considerations in the society. Ethics that have its basis on the quest to lead a good life can help the society to regain the lost morality. Society members do not trust the belief that religion is the foundation of ethics. According to Foucault, there is a notable abandonment of the ethics of self in the society. Humanity does not base their ethical performance on the scientific knowledge that informs about what constitutes the self. There is a great need of society members to integrate rigorous honesty in the self. The operation of societal values has high dependence on ethical conducts that promote morality. The urge to account for the truth in any situation is an example of morality that society should adopt. All these, according to Foucault, depend on the ability of an individual to know himself of herself; hence ensuring technology of the self. Foucault’s conception of technology of the self was highly relevant to the role of both Christianity and Islamic religions in regulating morality through the notions of fate after death of an individual. Hospice professionals used several means of control that helped in managing the process of dying. People who are at their critical point of health need care. Those in charge of the terminally ill should take proper care and be in fully in charge. Hospice care initiatives have its basis on two most significant objectives. The first objective of hospice care is to ensure that the person with intermittent health gets relieved off the pain experienced because of the critical nature of the person’s health condition. The second objective is to ensure that the family of the terminally ill individual should also receive care. Personhood notions are necessary in understanding the nature of the development that humans can have about their view of death. It has grounds on the development of humans over a long period. The suffering of an individual during his or her life is a key motivation that defines personhood. Understanding suffering during terminal illness helps and individual to gain the courage required to push on appreciate the value of life. Terminally ill individuals can have two types of experiences. An individual can experience exceptional sufferings and pain that comes with the condition. The person may also have a feeling of satisfaction with the provisions of life. Both Christianity and Islamic religions had unique ways of caring for their fellow believers during terminal illness. Encouragement offered to the terminally ill in both religions was helpful in ensuring they maintain their faith of having a desirable destiny after death. Christians hold a unique perception about death. The biblical theoretical understanding of death emanates from the understanding that it is the distinction of the individual's body from the soul of a human being. Christians believe in life that occurs after the end of life that comes at the time when the soul separates from life. The definition of physical death differs from that of spiritual death. There is no spiritual death from a Christian’s point of view. Christians acknowledge the reality of transition from the physical soul to the spiritual. In Christian belief, there exists life after death that occurs in heaven. Believers enjoy life after they die in with God in heaven. According to Christian beliefs, it is a celebration for an individual to die in the belief that there is a good reason to live after death. Dying, therefore, is a source of happiness since it links someone to a good life in the future. Death is a source of passionate fulfillment that comes with the thought that it is a transition to eternity. Dying, from a Christian’s point of view, brings fulfillment and satisfaction about life and all it encompasses. There is a promise that life after a Christian’s death shall only be good is one fulfills the demands of the provisions in the bible. This brings the thought of greatness in life for the living to follow the teachings in the Christian form of life while living. Living is a preparation for the life that will come after the death of a believer. In the Islamic religion, life is sacred, and its protection is a vital observance that Muslims must fulfill. Spirituality is a central consideration in the religion’s provisions in the holy Quran. According to the religion, it is unlawful to be hostile against the life of humans. Any aggression among Muslim brothers is a condemnation in the laws of the religion. This reiterates the sacredness of life in the Islam religion. The religion also prohibits suicide since it is equivalent to a crime. Morality and ethics are serious considerations in the Islamic religion. The interpretation of the Shariah is important in the understanding of the perception of death in the Islamic religion. Muslims provide great care to the terminally ill brothers in the religion. Life, in the Islamic standpoint, is an accord. It is an all-embracing set-up of social interaction. Peace and personal satisfaction in the Islam come with the fulfillment of the laws as stated in the Quran. The principles of justice and harmonious existence are essential in defining the Islam perception of morality in the society. As noted by Beshai, there is a great anxiety among the living about death, a reason that causes people to lead a moral life (90). The entirety of life in the Islam religion is a time when an individual determines his or her destiny upon death. Upon death, the soul goes back to the originator. The fate of the returned soul depends on the deeds committed before death. Life, in the Islamic religion, therefore, presents a platform to make a desirable destiny of the individual after death. The concept of death and its continuity in the Islam is as provided for in the Quran. At the point when an individual dies, the fate is determined. The faithful people to the Islam religion look forward to getting to heaven, when they die. Unfaithful, however, have their destiny in hell. There are diverse themes of death in the Quran and contribute to the perception of death in the Islamic religion. The Quran also provides different provisions on the defiance by non-observers of the law. It states the misery that those who do not live according to the writings would undergo. Since everyone has the entitlement to undergo through the agony of death, trials during life are to make Islam religion believers strong while living. The preparation for death and the knowledge that fate depends on an individual’s way of life makes believers embrace morality and plausible social interaction. Everyone shall have a full pay of the debts on the resurrection day. Success after death, according to the Islam religion shall entail the admission of the individual to paradise. Information on the reality of death is critical for individuals to get ready for the transition of life from that of the physical soul to the acceptance in paradise. After the physical death, Archangel takes away the soul and separates it from the physical body. The angel presents the soul to God back in heaven. Life in paradise is promising and makes believers embrace morality throughout their lifetime. The two accounts of perceptions of death in Islamic and Christian religions reaffirms the understanding the individuals embrace morality during life to gain the life after death promises. Works Cited Beshai, James A. "Islamic Ontology of Death Anxiety in the Work of Abdel-Khalek." Omega: Journal Of Death & Dying 66.1 (2012): 89-96. Education Research Complete. Web. 3 May 2013. Mak, Mui-Hing June. "Quality Insights of University Teachers on Dying, Death, and Death Education." Omega: Journal Of Death & Dying 66.2 (2012): 173-194. Education Research Complete. Web. 3 May 2013. Read More