Philippe Aries And The Tame Death

Improved Essays
Society has shifted from accepting and being familiar with death to denying it and banishing it from consciousness. Philippe Aries, a great contributor to the sociological study of death and dying and has explored the way that our experiences of death have changed over time and how these shifts have been influenced by social, political, and economic changes.
Upon examining the traditional death of the Middle Ages, Aries gave it the term the ‘Tame Death’. This is the first of Aries’ five attitudes to death which have categorised European society since the Mediaeval period. Aries’ work on the attitudes towards death looked at the history of the centrality of the beliefs and rituals about death (Kselman, 1987). The tame death is defined by harmony between the living and the dead (Whaley, 2012). One of the most significant aspects of this death is that it gave warning, especially since minor
…show more content…
During this time, there was an increasing orientation towards the individual and emphasis shifted to your own death. Aries links this change to the increasing focus on individualism, which involves ideas about personal concept in life and after death. An emphasis on the Last Judgement develops, as opposed to more general ideas surrounding a Second coming or resurrection (Whaley, 2012). Before this period, there was the belief that the dead would be sent to heaven. The emphasis on individualisation meant that people started believing they were personally accountable for their deeds and focus on judging good and bad deeds increased, with the belief in the separation of the just and the damned. Preparation for death became more personalised as there was a shifting from collective commemorations to requiem masses for individuals, as well as a shift in focus from the death bed towards the funeral. This reflects the increasing importance of the individual over the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Death and burial rituals in England during the Elizabethan era were a recognized topic of importance. With the plague spreading, death was rampant resulting in the customs being unsanitary and unsympathetic. However, considering all the medical advances made throughout the years, ceremonies adapted to be a more respectable process. Modern standards of death and burial differ from those in the Elizabethan period, but they were rightfully adjusted for their current circumstances.…

    • 1021 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    It has become common within society to say that contemporary western society is ‘death-denying’. This characterisation, which sociologists have named the ‘denial of death thesis’ was created between the period of 1955 and 1985. We’ll look at this is detail and with the information…

    • 1022 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Plague Dbq Essay

    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages

    The Bubonic Plague was one of the single most devastating events of the medieval era. The Plague, also called "Black Death" is suspected to have originated in China and the far east, coming to Europe during the late 1340 's and early 1350 's by way of shipping and trade routes. By the time the plague had abated, almost half of Europe 's population had been killed by this deadly disease. The results of the plague was extremely damaging not just to the population of Europe, but to the basis of society itself. The Plague had such a devastating effect on European society because the moral code of the populations dissolved, the emphasis and practice of religious faith declined, and the value and importance of traditional relationships decreased.…

    • 1257 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    First, as attempting a careful exploration of the issue raised by Epicurus using only the term “death” would be troublesome, for the term is ambiguous, I wish to differentiate three concepts from one another, that of dying, death and being dead. This will allow us to better understand Epicurus’ view about death in the most logically fluid way, while also enabling us to become more attuned to the equivocal usage of “death”, which often exemplifies rhetorically convincing ways of implying the falsity of Epicurus’ view. Dying, we may say, is the process whereby a thing loses life, whereas death is the time at which the process of dying ends. Both dying and death should be carefully distinguished with the state of being dead, which is a sort of tertiary state in one’s history, succeeding life . Secondly, I will follow custom and assume that one’s death results in permanent annihilation.…

    • 759 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Ambivalent Tragedy of a Good Death: Reflections on How to Die in Oregon By Nathan Rubene dos Santos I came to do this assignment with a veiled reluctance, not of dread but a sort of absent-mindedness. Considering the topic, this is understandable; matters of death and the process of dying tend to deter people from thinking about it too much. Often we hope to be taken from this world swiftly and, if not long in the tooth, at the very least without senseless torment. An ideal scenario would couple our passing with lasting dignity and respect too, but these are optional ornaments to a dirge played more times austere, brief, and without sentiment than otherwise. The treatment of the body at death and after is discussed about with seriousness only…

    • 973 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Catullus Death Analysis

    • 1966 Words
    • 8 Pages

    In almost every society known to man, the dead are treated with an equal balance of respect and fear. The beliefs pertaining afterlife and spirits differ from society to society, but what remains constant is the desire to celebrate the life of the deceased, and to treat the body and the name of the dead with respect, which is often achieved through funerary rites and proceedings. In Rome during the 1st and 2nd Century, there was a careful balance of the respect held for the dead and the fear involved, as they believed that the dead had the power to introduce negativity to the air around them, if treated disrespectfully. As a result of this, funeral rites were well followed and were carried out by those from all walks of society, whether rich…

    • 1966 Words
    • 8 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Aztec Afterlife Beliefs

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Death has always been seen as the essence of misery, darkness, and evil. When people are exposed to the concept of dying, they are frightened, because death leads to lands that are unknown to man. Even though people do not understand it, the unknown world of the afterlife is assumed to be cold and lonely, an inescapable void. People, when they think of death, are reminded of how they lost their loved ones to it, how they have mourned those they will never be able to see again. However, while this is the widespread view of the afterlife, there are people who see death as a new beginning.…

    • 430 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Fear In Maacandra's Life

    • 1352 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Life Experience on Malacandra: The Important Role of Shaping the View of Fear and Death Birth, growth, illness, and death are the four compulsory stages of life. Death is the most mysterious, and it has always attracted and frightened people among those phases of life. Emotions and the attitudes concerning death can be described as a directly proportional relationship in people’s life. These sentiments include fear, belongingness, and burdensomeness.…

    • 1352 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    What make us human, are we more than just biological machines? Despite the fact that we’ve developed the complexity to think, decide and create, we are still prone to having many animalistic characteristics, the most prominent being our desire to live. Although death has been around since the beginning of existence it is interesting how we haven’t overcome its phycological and emotional affect on one another. In the essays On the fear of death by Kubler Ross and Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain by Jessica Mitford both writers share their attitudes towards the acceptance and denial of death. Their influences are based on recent advancements of medicine and technology.…

    • 1099 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Life Course Analysis

    • 2168 Words
    • 9 Pages

    I will be sociologically analyzing death as a cultural phenomenon, stage of the life course, and personal experience. The first day in SOCY 4131, we talked about death. In a “Life Course” class, one may be surprised death is brought up so early. The ironic thing about the life course is that living with a “good” death in mind usually reflects a good life. I will further explain what this means throughout the essay.…

    • 2168 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Death Theme In Beowulf

    • 1427 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Death, an ominous and dark subject, is very frequent in medieval literature. In the passages read so far this semester, each have had some mention of death literal and figurative, which is a dismal subject, but still brings about celebration. What an author emphasizes and how he delivers the message of death in his work shows what he celebrates in his work. Different writers focus on different aspects of death to convey and reveal to the reader what he celebrates in death.…

    • 1427 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Whether we acknowledge it or not, most of us fear death. Death remains a great mystery, one of the central issues with which religion and philosophy and science have wrestled since the beginning of human history. Even though dying is a natural part of existence, American culture is unique in the extent to which death is viewed as a taboo topic. Jessica Mitford’s Behind the Formaldehyde Curtain and Elisabeth Kubler-Ross’ On the Fear of Death are two readings that have two different point-of-views on death.…

    • 989 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Antigone Research Paper

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Title Death is the ultimate and inevitable conclusion to life. It seems we are committed to a life sentence ever since we are born. We never know how our life will come to an end and when we’ll die, or how, but we know it will happen. There is someone there who stalks our every waking moment and movement. Death is sometimes considered as an instrument by which we measure the value and significance of our lives.…

    • 355 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the world, there is a myriad of views on death. Some suggest that death is natural, and people should not fear it. In “Thanatopsis” and “The Tide Rises, the Tide Falls”, Bryant and Longfellow imply that people should not fear death; the normalcy of death, what happens to one after death, and what happens to others after you die supports this idea. Bryant and Longfellow, both express that because of how common death is, people should not fear it.…

    • 532 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The author of “On Natural Death” by Lewis Thomas begins his essay by being lighthearted about death and progressively gets more into depth with the aspects of death for different living things and whether or not they detect pain. This is to objectify the fact that death is destined for all living things and that it shouldn’t be planned or feared but instead, it should be accepted. The first strategy Lewis Thompson uses is denouncing books about death. Lewis emphasizes that death is becoming planned with there being “so many new books about dying” placed next to “the health diet and home repair paperbacks”. Lewis insinuates that the topic of planned death is considered ordinary to where it’s placed next to everyday topics and accepted by society who doesn’t think twice about it.…

    • 741 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays

Related Topics