|
|
|
|
 | The Modern Art of Dying: |
How we die reveals much about how we live. In this provocative book, Shai Lavi traces the history of euthanasia in the United States to show how changing attitudes toward death reflect new and troubling ways of experiencing pain, hope, and freedom. Lavi begins with the historical meaning of euthanasia as signifying an "easeful death." Over time, he shows, the term came to mean a death blessed by the grace of God, and later, medical hastening of death. Lavi illustrates these changes with compelling accounts of changes at the deathbed. He takes us from early nineteenth-century deathbeds governed by religion through the medicalization of death with the physician presiding over the deathbed, to the legalization of physician-assisted suicide. Unlike previous books, which have focused on law and technique as explanations for the rise of euthanasia, this book asks why law and technique have come to play such a central role in the way we die. What is at stake in the modern way of dying is not human progress, but rather a fundamental change in the way we experience life in the face of death, Lavi argues. In attempting to gain control over death, he maintains, we may unintentionally have ceded control to policy makers and bio-scientific enterprises. Shai J. Lavi teaches law and sociology at Tel-Aviv University. His research lies at the crossroads of culture, philosophy, and law. "However we seek to achieve it, in the end what we most hope for is a good death. For his help in pushing us to think about what this means, Professor Lavi deserves our undying gratitude."--Joanna Reiver, Journal of Legal Medicine "Lavi helped explain what the inhabitants of Christendom understood implicitly for centuries. He is right: We have forgotten how to die."--Michael A. Flannery, The Journal of American History "[V]ery well-researched and elegantly written. . . . [T]hought-provoking and worthwhile reading."--Marcia L. Meldrum, Journal of the American Medical Association "Lavi explains how dying has moves from 'art' to 'technique,' from an experience overseen by a minister and family to one of 'technique' overseen by doctors and constructed by law.... Lavi's work represents the best of sociolegal scholarship: it is impressive for its clear conceptualization, its marshalling of an impressive array of historical and cultural evidence, and its lucid, clear, and elegant writing.... As a model of concerned and rigorous scholarship, Lavi's book is exemplary."--Alfonso Morales, Law & Society Review Endorsements: "Shai Lavi has enormously deepened the current argument over euthanasia by putting it in a perspective that has seldom entered the discussion, namely, its history. The genealogy of the idea and practices that have turned the art of dying into the technique of dying does not solve the current debate, but it does allow us to see it not just as an argument between ethicists, but as one about the cultural meaning of death. This book is essential for anyone who is concerned about euthanasia and has the potential of changing the very terms of the discussion."--Robert N. Bellah, University of California, Berkeley, coauthor of Habits of the Heart and The Good Society. Acknowledgments ix Subject Areas: | |||||
Prices subject to change without notice File created: 7/1/2008 | |||||
Questions and comments to: webmaster@press.princeton.edu | |||||