The attitude towards death in modern society: the cultural and historical features and the impact on health behavior

Author(s):  S.A. Vangorodskaya, candidate of Sciences, associate Professor, Belgorod State National Research University, Belgorod, Russia, Vangorodskaya@bsu.edu.ru

Issue:  Volume 44, № 3

Rubric:  Sociology and Social Technologies

Annotation:  The article deals with the problem of attitude to death, which is one of the determinants of self-preservation behavior. Five stages of the centuries-old evolution of collective attitudes towards death, identified by F. arjes, are Described. Based on the classification of C. G. Jung analyzed two groups of the reasons for the positive relation of man to death. The contradictory role of religion in the formation of existential attitudes is noted. The influence on the perception of death formed in ancient ideas about the ideal life expectancy. The results of public opinion research on the legalization of euthanasia in Russia are presented. It is noted that, despite numerous attempts to comprehend the theme of death, the attitude to it in modern society remains extremely contradictory, covered with many myths and prejudices. It is concluded that it is necessary to study the factors determining the attitude to death in modern society as a necessary condition for the formation of optimal models of self-preservation behavior of the Russian population.

Keywords:  self-preservation attitudes, life expectancy, death, attitude to death, euthanasia, self-preservation behavior.

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