Modern hospice movement: kalothanasia and aesthetic revivalism of good death

Abstract

This article analyzes the concept of good death, grounding the philosophy of the modern hospice movement. From its essencial features emerged a category of good death distinct from the historically known one, the euthanasia, with two essential characteristics: a peculiar arrangement to cope with illness making death meaningful and a process of dying prepared for and shared socially. That model of good death, known as kalothanasia, concerns a set of actions which seek to revive a smoother process of dying , taking the challenge of doing it in a medical scenario that identifies itself with the continued and persistent use of high technology.

Attitude to death; Bioethics; Palliative care; Hospice care; Terminal care; Thanatology