Medicine and care of the dying : a modern history
Author(s)
Bibliographic Information
Medicine and care of the dying : a modern history
Oxford University Press, 2007
- : cloth
Available at 12 libraries
  Aomori
  Iwate
  Miyagi
  Akita
  Yamagata
  Fukushima
  Ibaraki
  Tochigi
  Gunma
  Saitama
  Chiba
  Tokyo
  Kanagawa
  Niigata
  Toyama
  Ishikawa
  Fukui
  Yamanashi
  Nagano
  Gifu
  Shizuoka
  Aichi
  Mie
  Shiga
  Kyoto
  Osaka
  Hyogo
  Nara
  Wakayama
  Tottori
  Shimane
  Okayama
  Hiroshima
  Yamaguchi
  Tokushima
  Kagawa
  Ehime
  Kochi
  Fukuoka
  Saga
  Nagasaki
  Kumamoto
  Oita
  Miyazaki
  Kagoshima
  Okinawa
  Korea
  China
  Thailand
  United Kingdom
  Germany
  Switzerland
  France
  Belgium
  Netherlands
  Sweden
  Norway
  United States of America
Note
Includes bibliographical references (p. 237-260) and index
Contents of Works
- The religious and the medical
- The rise of modern medicine
- Cancer and medicine in historical perspective
- Development of palliative care services
- Development of pain control
- Medicine and euthanasia
- Observations and conclusions
Description and Table of Contents
Description
There is a growing conflict in medicine between the research imperative, with its implicit goal of overcoming death itself, and the re-emergent clinical imperative to treat death as a part of life, and to make the process of dying as tolerable as possible. Central to this conflict is the rise of scientific medicine and the decline of religious and associated discourses. Many of the Anglo Saxon countries are also marked by a moral and religious pluralism which breeds
controversy over bioethical issues such as euthanasia.
It seems that modern medicine has put the cure of bodies before the care of persons. Some scholars attribute this to a metaphysical heritage of dualism and reductionism. This heritage has become problematic in the modern age where waning belief in a divine order leaves the individual self as the bearer of meaning. At the same time, knowledge about nature and society has been increasing at such an accelerated pace, it has become even more difficult to develop a unified secular worldview. When
the dying self contemplates its own disintegration in this context, the search for meaning may rest heavy indeed
Chapters one and two address these larger issues. Chapter three focuses on medicine's approach to cancer as a prime example of the strengths and weaknesses of the research imperative. Chapter four looks at the diffusion of the theory and practice of palliative care throughout the Anglo Saxon world. The fifth chapter discusses the development of effective pain control, essential to palliative care and one of modern medicine's unsung triumphs. The sixth chapter addresses the changing meaning of
euthanasia in Western history in the past century, as it transitioned from a philosophical position to a widely-debated policy proposal.
This book is for palliative care practitioners, and all health care professionals with an interest in end-of-life care. It is also for students in palliative care and the history of medicine, and for anyone interested in the history of this intriguing field.
Table of Contents
- 1. The Religious and the Medical
- 2. The Rise of Modern Medicine
- 3. Cancer and Medicine in Historical Perspective
- 4. Development of Palliative Care Services
- 5. Development of Pain Control
- 6. Medicine and Euthanasia
- 7. Observations and Conclusions
by "Nielsen BookData"