Virtues And Dying

In this rich book Matthew Levering explores nine key virtues that we need to die (and live) well: love, hope, faith, penitence, gratitude, solidarity, humility, surrender, and courage. Retrieving and engaging a variety of biblical, theological, historical, and medical resources, Levering journeys through the various stages and challenges of the dying process, beginning with the fear of annihilation and continuing through repentance and gratitude, suffering and hope, before arriving finally at the courage needed to say goodbye to one’s familiar world. Grounded in careful readings of Scripture, the theological tradition, and contemporary culture, Dying and the Virtues comprehensively and beautifully shows how these nine virtues effectively unite us with God, the One who alone can conquer death.

I argue that for most patients a good death involves more than contemporary medicine can or should be expected to provide and that virtues can secure goods not provided by medicine. Currently, medical care at the end of life focuses on addressing pain and suffering, supporting independent functioning and autonomy, providing aggressive care near death when desired, and preserving overall quality of life, among other aims. When bioethicists have discussed a good death, they have argued primarily for the provision of such services and for respect of patients' autonomy. However, I argue that such circumstances are not sufficient by themselves to ensure a good death and a patient's use of autonomy will be "guided" by her conception of a good death. In many cases, a good death requires -- as a necessary if not sufficient condition -- virtues as well. At least four different conceptions of a good death, I argue, exist within American society. These conceptions imply goods that go beyond what proper medical care currently does or should provide. Next, I discuss the challenges that dying patients face in our contemporary medical and social context. What types of challenges -- and how one faces them -- will be determined partly by one's conception of a good death, though certain challenges seem more universal. I argue that the challenges associated with the loss of independence and increasing dependence on others and the nature of pain and suffering at the end of life are among our most prominent concerns. After discussing virtues in general and the place of emotions within them, I use this account to show how virtues can enable a person to die well, given a particular patient's conception of a good death. Embodying virtues such as patience, gratitude, generosity, and practical wisdom can help patients become the kinds of people who can meet some of the challenges of dying. I conclude by giving a fuller depiction of one conception of a good death rooted in the Christian moral tradition.

By mining the rich tradition of virtue ethics, Christopher Vogt uses the virtues of patience, compassion, and hope as a framework for specifying the shape of a good death, and for naming the practices Christians should develop to live well and die well. Bringing together historical, biblical, and contemporary sources in Christian ethics, Vogt provides a long-overdue theological analysis of the ars moriendi or "art of dying" literature of four centuries ago. Through a careful analysis of Luke's passion narrative, Vogt uses Jesus as the primary model for being patient in the face of death and for dying well.

Death and Compassion offers a systematic exploration of the role of the virtues within medical ethics and practice - presenting a critique of principle-based ethical systems within the context of modern medicine. Focusing specifically on terminal care and the ethical problems surrounding euthanasia, and drawing on Aristotle's teleological account of the virtues, the author develops an argument in favour of a systematic incorporation of the virtues of compassion, benevolence and respectfulness in medical practice.

Excerpt from The Rule and Exercises of Holy Dying My Lord, it is a great art to die well, and to be learnt by men in health, by them that can difcourfe and confider, by thofe whofe underftanding and afts of reafon are not abated with fear or pains: and as the greateft part of Death is paffed by the preceding years of our Life, fo alfo in thofe years are the greatef't preparations to it; and he that prepares not for Death before his hit ficknefs, is like him that begins to Rudy Philofophy when he is going to difpute pub licly in the Faculty. All that a fick and dying man can do is but to exercife thofe virtues which he be-fviii the epistle dedicatory. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Perfection in Death compares and contrasts the relationship between conceptions of courage and death in the thought of Aquinas and his ancient philosophical sources. At the center of this investigation is Aquinas' identification of martyrdom as the paradigmatic act of courage as well as "the greatest proof of the perfection of charity." Such a portrayal of "perfection in death" bears some resemblance to the ancient tradition of "noble death", but departs from it in decisive ways. Clark argues that this departure can only be fully understood in light of an accompanying transformation of the metaphysical and anthropological framework underlying ancient theories of virtue. Perfection in Death aims to provide a new, theological account of this paradigm shift in light of contemporary Thomistic scholarship.

Although philosophy, religion, and civic cultures used to help people prepare for aging and dying well, this is no longer the case. Today, aging is frequently seen as a problem to be solved and death as a harsh reality to be masked. In part, our cultural confusion is rooted in an inadequate conception of the human person, which is based on a notion of absolute individual autonomy that cannot but fail in the face of the dependency that comes with aging and decline at the end of life. To help correct the ethical impoverishment at the root of our contemporary social confusion, The Evening of Life provides an interdisciplinary examination of the challenges of aging and dying well. It calls for a re-envisioning of cultural concepts, practices, and virtues that embraces decline, dependency, and finitude rather than stigmatizes them. Bringing together the work of sociologists, anthropologists, philosophers, theologians, and medical practitioners, this collection of essays develops an interrelated set of conceptual tools to discuss the current challenges posed to aging and dying well, such as flourishing, temporality, narrative, and friendship. Above all, it proposes a positive understanding of thriving in old age that is rooted in our shared vulnerability as human beings. It also suggests how some of these tools and concepts can be deployed to create a medical system that better responds to our contemporary needs. The Evening of Life will interest bioethicists, medical practitioners, clinicians, and others involved in the care of the aging and dying. Contributors: Joseph E. Davis, Sharon R. Kaufman, Paul Scherz, Wilfred M. McClay, Kevin Aho, Charles Guignon, Bryan S. Turner, Janelle S. Taylor, Sarah L. Szanton, Janiece Taylor, and Justin Mutter