Konferensartikel

A response is presented to Markus Zimmermann-Acklin’s paper ‘The quest for a perfect death. Thoughts on death and dying in the future’. Some critical questions are raised about his analysis of present trends and the dystopic future scenarios that he envisages; in particular; it is suggested that the ‘palliative care’ scenario represents a distortion of the ethos and practice of palliative care; which – rightly understood and practised – can be part of the solution rather than part of the problem. The ‘realistic or desirable future scenario’ advocated by Dr Zimmermann-Acklin in preference to his dystopic scenarios is supported; but it is argued that the ars moriendi and ars vivendi; which are central to that scenario; are only intelligible against a transcendent horizon that has to a greater or lesser extent disappeared from view in many Western societies. This suggests that if our societies are to have a serious conversation about the goods at stake in our practices of death and dying; that conversation will need to be a theological one.

Death; dying; <em>ars moriendi; ars vivendi</em>; theological ethics