Medicalisation of Death at the Turn of of the 18th to 19th Centuries. The moment of Death, apparent Death and Attitudes towards Dead from the Point of View of the History of Medicine

Abstract

This paper deals with the topic of dying end death between the 18th and 19th centuries from the point of view of the history of medicine. Having considered some research results of contemporary historiography and some period medical treatises it is structured into three parts. The first part introduces some of the author’s methodological and theoretical approaches to the topic. The second part is dedicated to the problem of apparent death which has its origins in the 40’ of the 18th century. The medical discussion about apparent death can be considered as the beginning of medicalizing death in the history of medicine. The third part of this paper considers some funeral reforms from the late 18th century and their impact on changing attitudes of people towards the dying and dead.