| Title: |
Seuil moral de l'acceptable: Fins de vie et légitimité de la mort des personnes de grand âge séjournant en institution. (French) |
| Authors: |
Lessard, Sabrina |
| Source: |
Anthropologica; 2025, Vol. 67 Issue 2, p1-22, 22p |
| Subject Terms: |
ELDER care; PALLIATIVE treatment; LEGITIMACY of governments; ETHNOLOGY research; POPULATION aging; HUMAN rights; POSTMORTEM changes |
| Abstract (English): |
In modern Western societies, the experience of dying is often intertwined with that of being very old. Paradoxically, and despite the social context that gives everyone at the end of their life the right to "die with dignity," the care surrounding death (palliative care and end-of-life) is significantly less likely to be provided to people over the age of 84. Based on stories about the very old who died in old-age institutions between 2017 and 2018, this ethnographic study focuses on the moral threshold from which the death of a very old person becomes legitimate. Informed, on the one hand, by the social imaginary surrounding the very old and, on the other hand, by the concept of the value of life, we addressed the construction of the legitimacy of life and death, the care allowing for the preservation of a liminal state, and, lastly, the threshold from which care intended to prolong life becomes unacceptable. Through these stories, we aim to contribute to a deeper understanding of the nuanced value of life and death in our aging society. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
| Abstract (French): |
Dans nos sociétés modernes occidentales, l'expérience du mourir entrelace bien souvent celle du grand âge. Paradoxalement et malgré le contexte sociétal qui donne le droit à toute personne en fin de vie de « mourir dans la dignité », les soins qui accompagnent le mourir (soins palliatifs et fin de vie) sont significativement moins souvent offerts aux personnes de plus de 84 ans. Basée sur les histoires de personnes très âgées décédées en institution gériatrique entre 2017 et 2018, cette étude ethnographique s'intéresse au seuil moral à partir duquel la mort d'une personne de grand âge devient légitime. Informés, d'une part, par l'imaginaire social entourant le grand âge et, d'autre part, par la notion de valeur de la vie, nous y abordons la construction de la légitimité de la vie et de la mort, les soins permettant la préservation d'un état limite et enfin, le seuil à partir duquel les soins visant à prolonger la vie deviennent intolérables. Par l'entremise de ces histoires, nous souhaitons contribuer à une meilleure compréhension de la valeur différenciée de la vie et de la mort dans notre société vieillissante. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
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| Database: |
Complementary Index |