Citation

Ben-David OB. Mortality 2006; 11(1): 79-98.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2006, Informa - Taylor and Francis Group)

DOI

10.1080/13576270500445586

PMID

unavailable

Abstract

This paper examines the ways Israeli society defines and classifies the status of death, and debates the possibility of transforming the significance of death according to its circumstances, particularly by donating organs. Israeli society's consideration of death is of singular interest, since it is a society that lives in the shadow of frequent bereavement and grades death into clear categories: Heroic death, natural death, and accidental death. Israeli society correlates heroic death almost exclusively with the heroic death of soldiers. Thus the media presents it publicly and the deceased is included in the pantheon of heroes to become part of the collective memory. Other forms of deaths, such as death in a road accident or as a result of a brain hemorrhage, a malignant illness, or suicides, are not considered socially significant and therefore are not categorized as heroic death. It is culturally possible to upgrade or downgrade the status of death. This happens through negotiating the ownership of the dead body, its symbolization, and immortalization. The paper presents and analyses many examples of public discussion regarding death within the context of Israeli society and the struggle to downgrade or upgrade their status. One method of upgrading the status of the death is by donating the organs of the deceased. In a society that holds self-sacrifice in high regard, death can be given enhanced dignity by altruistic giving, such as organ donation. © 2006 Taylor & Francis.

Language: en

Keywords

Organ donation; Good death; Bad death; Heroic death; Private death; Public-oriented death; Socio-cultural hierarchy of death