The Doctor Facing Death. A Social-Anthropological Perspective

FORMAT | Presented paper

LANGUAGE |English

HOW TO CITE| Damian, S. I., Necula, M. R., SANDU, Antonio, Necula, M. I., Scripcaru, C., & Ioan, B. (2014). The Doctor Facing Death. A Social-Anthropological Perspective. Prezentată la 4th International Conference Logos, Universality, Mentality, Education, Novelty. From Theory to Inquiry in social Sciences, 10-12 April, Iași, România.

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ABSTRACT

Confrontation with the perspective of death can generate two distinct anthropological views on the value of life and its finitude: a spiritual view in which life is the preparation for eternity and a view which is based on the denial of any form of afterlife. In this article the authors explore the way in which the anthropological views on death (secular humanist beliefs versus religious beliefs) could influence the professional medical practice and the way in which these values are transmitted or not to patients during the medical act. The authors apply a qualitative methodology based on semi-structured interviews with young doctors divided in two analytical groups including doctors who declare themselves deeply attached to religious values and doctors with secular beliefs. Qualitative interpretation of the data is based on the method of successive induction, which allows us to reinterpret the narration of the participants in the form of an anthropological construction. The conclusions of the research will emphasize the significance of the humanist component of medical practice and the importance of reflecting over the finitude of the human life in the constructions of the concept of “good doctor”.

KEYWORDS:

death anthropology, good doctor, religious values.