The Issue of Death and Dying - Essay Example

? Death and Dying The meaning of life is one of those questions which human beings from all over the world have been asking themselves from time immemorial. This is often because of the fact that many human beings prefer to have some purpose in life in order for it to have any meaning. One of the reasons why people attach so much meaning to life is because of the joys and the hope for it that they desire to experience throughout their lives. The belief that one is going to experience continuous joy later in their life is what human beings hope for and this is perhaps what makes them cling to life and fear death. The fear of death is so great among human beings that a majority of them have no desire to die, and it is this, perhaps more than anything else that has made people to seek meaning for their own lives (Loo, 1996). The fact that there is death for all human beings has made many to desire to know their origins because through this knowledge, they might develop some meaning for their own lives and find some direction on how they would like to live. Life is a powerful force among human beings and it is because of it that many individuals have often had the desire to leave behind a mark through which they can be remembered by future generations. This has inspired people, throughout history, to bring themselves up from extremely poor conditions to being remembered as either wealthy individuals or able administrators and even conquerors. A famous example in this case would be the great Mongol conqueror Genghis Khan, who despite starting with nothing ended up uniting all the Mongol tribes and founded an empire which almost included the whole of Eurasia. The desire to conquer other nations in this leader and his descendants was perhaps sparked by the need to leave a mark to be remembered by, since they realized that death would eventually claim them. As a result of the realization that life will eventually come to an end, many human beings always find meaning in it through creating expectations for both themselves and those in their lives. These expectations are expected to be fulfilled during one’s lifetime and this pushes people to achieve as much of these expectations as they can. The aging process is one of the most fundamental aspects of being human because of the fact that it is one of the processes which lead to death. One would perhaps go as far as to suggest that human beings live with death from the time of their births. The aging process can therefore be associated with death because that is what it eventually leads to (Sterk, 2010). Because human beings age, there comes a time when the elderly are no longer able to fulfill their obligations as much as they would have when they were younger. They are not able to take care of themselves and this task has, in many societies, fallen to the younger generations. People are, from a young age, taught to respect the elderly and to take care of their needs whenever they can. In many societies, it is a fact that many elderly people are accorded the status of being wise and this has created a situation where there is often deference to their opinions. It can be said that the elderly are accorded this respect because of the fact that they have had many experiences in their lives and also because they are approaching the end of their lives. Because of the latter, they are accorded with respect so that new meaning can be found in their lives where they would otherwise be viewed as being useless to society. The need to find meaning to their lives has led many human beings from ancient times to indulge in religion. This has often worked towards creating some meaning since the concept of there being a God or gods has enabled human beings to attribute to themselves some divine relationship. Most people who practice religion believe that since it was God who created them and provided them with knowledge unlike other creatures, they have a special status on earth which gives them the right to dominate it. This is one of the most fundamental beliefs among many human beings since it is the basis upon which many would define the meaning of their lives. Death is one of the things which scare people the most and religion has come to be a source of solace because it teaches that there is life after death. The thought that with death will come an end of who and what they are makes many human beings to fear it because not matter how it is described, death still remains a mystery to this day, even to the wisest men in the world. This is the reason why human beings often dream of immortality because of its promise of there not being an end to them. Religion has come to fulfill the need for human beings not to fear death since it teaches that while the human body may be mortal, the soul is immortal and that when people die, they go to a better place (Bhugra, 1999). The realization that their lives will eventually come to an end is what encourages many human beings to have offspring. In many cultures, it is believed that individuals will live on through their descendants despite the fact that they will be dead. The production of offspring has become a means through which individuals can immortalize themselves since they are not able to do so by escaping death (Wright, 2003). The desire to have children can therefore be said to be inspired by the fact that all human beings face death and that because of this, they have to leave a part of themselves behind, in the form of their children. In relation to having descendants, there are certain religions which propagate the idea of reincarnation since the soul is immortal. The immortality of the soul means that human beings can be able to come back to life by being reborn as one of their own descendants, as is taught in some traditional African religions. When human beings are categorized, they would be placed under the category of being animals and because of this, one would say that they would be expected to act as animals. In other words, human beings would be expected to be highly individualistic in nature, putting their own interest before those of fellow human beings. Recent research on the behavior of human beings has brought to light the fact that human beings, despite being categorized as animals are still extremely empathetic towards one another. The fact is that human beings are currently moving from being highly individualistic creatures to being more empathetic towards one another (Gerdes, et al 2011). This change has come to dispute Darwin’s assumption that human beings, like other animals, live by the principle of survival of the fittest, and that they look after their own interests at the expense of their fellow human beings. What this theory failed to decipher is the fact that human beings need one another in order to survive and that unlike animals; they are extremely social creatures who need a sense of belonging. In fact, it can be said that because of the study of behaviorism over other aspect of the character of human beings, psychologists came to be blinded to the human need for bonding with one another. The human need for others is based on security and in fact, while others regard war as being a necessary part of being human, one would say that human beings are capable of war but do not really need it in their daily lives. Empathy has become one of the driving forces in the world today with many taking action to do things to help those in need. Among the most prominent actions that human beings today involve themselves in to help others is getting involved in charities. In addition, there has developed a tendency within many societies for individuals to fight for the rights of others, something which would have been unthinkable only a century ago. The unacceptable people within the society who would otherwise not have been accepted have come to be accepted as part of the society. Among these are gay and lesbian populace, and in the developed world, individuals from other ethnic groups apart from Caucasians. This acceptance has become one of the most notable examples of the empathy that many humans have come to show one another. This is a clear statement of the fact that human being are becoming more empathetic towards one another as they come to accept one another just the way they are other than what they are supposed to be. There are others who have come to fight for the rights of the less advantaged in their own societies because many of the latter do not have the ability to protect themselves. This has become a basic fact as more and more people embrace their empathetic nature, something that many scholars have failed to recognize. It has been found that individuals are often extremely sensitive to the moods of other human beings so that laughter and yawning can be considered to be contagious. The bodies of primates have been designed for socialization since no human being can exist alone without the companionship of others (Gibbons, 2011). The fact that human beings would be lost without one another means that there has developed a need for them to be empathetic towards one another. One cannot compare human beings to other animals as this would mean that there would be a complete lack of empathy between various human beings. The fact that human beings mimic the behavior of one another is a sure fact that they need one another in order to survive and that being together needs a certain amount of empathy. It has further been found that among human beings, women are more empathetic than men and this has been attributed to their maternal instincts which encourage them to nurture (Gray 207). This is perhaps the reason why women are currently at the forefront of fighting for the rights of others within the society. The development of empathy in human society has created a situation where governmental systems all over the world are changing so that those that were previously dictatorial are slowly, but surely giving way to those that are more democratic, with people having a say in them. This change can only be explained through the development of empathy where people no longer rule through the strength of their armies rather, they rule through the will of their people. The evolution of empathy in the modern world has come about not because of the voluntary nature of human beings, but instinctively. While empathy can be voluntarily controlled, the fact that it exists instinctively cannot be denied, and this is the reason why human beings are capable of doing good deeds, when they would otherwise not have done so. Empathy has been found to be an instinct which is prevalent in most mammals, since some experiments conducted have come to show that mice react to the pain of other mice. This shows that empathy is not confined to human beings alone and that it can also be found among other animals as well. Empathy has become the cornerstone upon which the modern world has been developed since today, human society is no longer about a select group of people dominating others and instead, people are now more concerned about each other. The leaders of today work towards the improvement of the lives of their people instead of seeking to amass their own wealth and dominance over them. The fact that empathy has become one of the defining aspects of modern civilization can be said to be a part of the evolving process of human beings where individuals are developing those human aspects which have for a long time laid dormant. References Bhugra, D. (1999) "Dying, Death and Bereavement in a British Hindu Community." Journal of Mental Health 8.4: 424-. Gerdes, K. E. et al. (2011). "Measuring Empathy in the 21st Century: Development of an Empathy Index Rooted in Social Cognitive Neuroscience and Social Justice." Social work research 35.2: 83-93. Gibbons, S. B. (2011)."Understanding Empathy as a Complex Construct: A Review of the Literature." Clinical Social Work Journal 39.3: 243-52. Gray, Breda. "Empathy, Emotion and Feminist Solidarities." Critical Studies 34 (2011): 207-33. Loo, R. (1996). "Structure of the Collett-Lester Fear of Death and Dying Scale." Death studies 20.6: 577-86. Sterk, K. (2010). "You can Only Die Thrice: Death and Dying of a Human Body in Psychoanalytical Perspective." Journal of Religion and Health 49.4: 591-602. Wright, K. (2003). "Relationships with Death: The Terminally Ill Talk about Dying." Journal of marital and family therapy 29.4: 439-53. Read More