Bioethics Council, Brazilian National Cancer Institute, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Palliat Support Care. 2010 Dec;8(4):461-8. doi: 10.1017/S1478951510000349. Epub 2010 Sep 28.
The purpose of this article is to characterize the notion of a "good death" both historically and conceptually, grounding the philosophy of the modern hospice movement. This concept encompasses elements originating in ancient societies, such as peasant societies, where death was prepared for and shared socially, with ethical and aesthetic elements originating from Ancient Greece. These Greek elements emerged from a "journey of struggle" and can be recognized in the current day as a journey to cope with illness. From this conceptualization emerged a category of "good death" (kalothanasia), adding to the expertise of advocates of the modern hospice movement, who seek to revive a process of dying that is socially ritualized. However, this is challenging in the setting of a medical practice that is constantly incorporating new technology, in accordance with its present bio-techno-scientific paradigm, and in a medical scenario that identifies itself with the continued and persistent use of new technologies.
本文旨在从历史和概念上描述“善终”的概念，为现代临终关怀运动的哲学奠定基础。这个概念包含了起源于古代社会的元素，如农民社会，在那里，死亡是有准备的，并在社会上共同面对，具有起源于古希腊的伦理和美学元素。这些希腊元素源于一场“挣扎之旅”，在当今社会，可以被认作是与疾病作斗争的旅程。从这个概念化中出现了一个“善终”的类别（kalothanasia），为现代临终关怀运动的倡导者增加了专业知识，他们试图恢复一种被社会仪式化的死亡过程。然而，在不断采用新技术的医疗实践中，这是具有挑战性的，符合其当前的生物科技科学范式，在一个将自身与持续使用新技术联系在一起的医疗环境中更是如此。
