Cuttin The Body Loose

All too often, studies of death are reduced to a series of legal or medical case studies, which ignore the need to provide a personal and a societal context. Cuttin' the Body Loose explores the practical and philosophical questions related to death and dying. Looking at death from the perspective of different cultures and different periods in history, William Joseph Gavin utilizes both Western and Eastern cases and examples from literature, history, philosophy, as well as the news. He argues that even so-called 'biological" definitions of death are socially constructed and that trying to determine a single correct definition masks the important issues of the process of dying. Gavin's accessible discussion centers on two approaches to death and dying: acceptance and rebellion. He argues that the more one emphasizes the uniqueness of the individual (the concept of self), the more one advocates a model of rebellion. In addition to the concept of self, which varies from culture to culture, Gavin also discusses the complicated integration of both approaches. He concludes that we need to preserve a multi-leveled context for death and dying, one in which each person can choose an appropriate standpoint. Author note: William Joseph Gavin is Professor of Philosophy at the University of Southern Maine. His most recently published book is William James and the Reinstatement of the Vague (Temple).