I was also interested in the four types of death. I didn't know that death could be defined in multiple ways. Clinical death is defined when breathing and heartbeat have stopped. The text on page 281 of the Lifesmart text says that CPR can save and individual from clinical death. The next type of death explained in the text is brain death. This type of death is when the cortex and midbrain cease functioning. (Lifesmart,282) Next is biological death, this was interesting because it occurs when it is no longer possible to discern an electrical charge in the tissues of the heart and lungs. This causing permanent end of all life functions. Social death was an interestinf concept to me, this is when the person is treated as if they are dead but they are biologically alive.
Monday, April 18, 2016
Week 7: Elliott: Chapter 12 reflection
In chapter 12 of the Lifesmart text, the topic is about death spirituality. At first I wasn't excited to read this chapter, I thought it would be super depressing and sad. After reading the chapter I realized that although death is not the happiest subject to talk about, I learned some interesting facts. I was surprised by the statistics found on page 280, the statement "In the United States, the mortality rate has declined from 17 per 1,000 people in 1900 to 8 people per 1,000 in 2004." This was shocking to read, I know that we have had many medical advances and people are living longer sine the 1900's but learning about the difference in numbers of deaths was interesting.
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Social death has always been a complicated topic. To be declared legally dead does not mean that one is biologically dead. With modern advancements in medical technology this becomes even more of a complicated issue.
ReplyDeleteCaley, you're absolutely right about the increase in life expectancy. While it's one thing to know that we are living longer, it's another to see the statistics in front of us. In fact, people today are even talking about overpopulation as a problem because our life expectancies are so good! I think that while we are blessed to live in a time when we don't have to worry about dying on a daily basis, the advance which allow us this increased life expectancy bring their own issues: How long should someone be kept alive via machines? Should people fight death tooth and nail by having all their organs replaced? I think we now face the issue of our technology advancing past our moral capacity for determining how to use it.
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