Death

"Die" redirects here. For the game-playing objects, seeDice.For death metal band, seeDeath (band).

Death and his flowers, in Kuoleman puutarha, Hugo Simberg (1906)

The humanskullis often used as asymbolfor death

Deathis the end of alifein anorganism.All biological and living activity of the living thing stops, including the mind and the senses. The usual signal for death in humans and many other animals is that theheartstops beating and cannot be restarted. This can be caused by many things. All living things have a limited lifespan, and all living things eventually die.

Living things that have died are normally described as being dead. Death of humans is often investigated for the cause, in case of crime (such asmurder),accidentordiseasethat may continue to kill other humans. About 150,000 people die every day around the world.About two thirds of these people die because ofage.In addition to the physical body, some believe humans also have asouland believe that the soul can continue without a body (afterlife), move into another body (reincarnation), or cease to exist (annihilationism).Religionshave different beliefs about this issue. Many cultures have their owncustomsandritualsto respect the dead.

When people talk about things or events that lead to the death of a plant or animal, those things or events are usually described as being deadly, or fatal. In the case of diseases, they are described asterminal.Humans are no different from any other lifeform. Our bodies have an ability for self-repair, but that ability is limited. Finding the cause of death is a medical speciality calledpathology.Inmedicine,death is when the heart stops beating for more than several minutes. There are special times in which people recover even though the heart has stopped for 30 minutes, such as near-drowning in very cold water. If machines are used to help the heart and lungs work, then the moment of death is more difficult to know.

Society and culture

Dead bodies can bemummifiedeither naturally or by intention.

Death is commonly a sad or unpleasant thing to people. It can make people think about their own death. People might miss or be sad for the person who has died. They might also be sad for the family and friends of the person who has died.

In any society, human death is surrounded byritual- awakeorfuneralis normal. In some places it was common to eat the dead in a form ofritualcannibalism.But this is no longer common, in part becausediseaselikekurucan be passed this way. Human dead bodies aretabooin most societies and must be handled in special ways - for a combination of religious andhygienereasons. A human dead body must always be reported inlaw,to be sure it is disposed of properly. In 2021 the leading cause of death in theUnited Stateswasheart diseasefollowed bycancerand thenCOVID-19.

Dealing with dead bodies and their property

Finding the cause of any human death and stopping a similar death from happening to someone else are the main reasons people look intohuman morbidityor let dead bodies be cut open and looked at in anautopsy.Some religions do not allow autopsies, because they feel the body is holy. Autopsies are usually required by thestateif someone dies and people do not know why. The autopsy helps find out if someone killed the person on purpose, tried to hurt them, or if they died from a sickness.

To prepare for their own death, humans can write alast will and testamentto be clear about who gets theirpropertyand possessions. A person will sometimes also volunteer to be anorgan donor.This might mean giving the whole body tomedical research.It can also save the lives of others by makingorgan transplantspossible.

Religious views of death

For a long time, many people have been afraid of death and a lot of people have wondered about what may happen to people after they die. This is one of the largest questions ofphilosophyandreligion.Many people believe there is some form ofafterlife.

Ancient rulers sometimes did insist not only that their own bodies, and much property, but even their servants and relatives be destroyed at their funeral.

Christianityhas a special focus on death because of the state killing ofJesus Christby theRomans.InIslamthis is thought to demonstrate the injustice of human systems of dealing out death, and the ability of the best people to overcome it and even forgive it. InChristianityitself it is thought to prove that Jesus himself was reallyGodand so could lose his body and still have the power ofresurrection.InBuddhismreincarnationis believed to occur. Reincarnation is an idea taken fromHinduism.

Confucianismadvises respect for parents and forms ofancestorworshipto respect both dead and living ancestors.

Rituals surrounding death

Everyethical traditionincluding the medical view of the body has some ritual surrounding death. Often these excuse behaviours that might be hated if they did not have the ritual. For instance, one may say thatorgan transplantis likecannibalism.

Very much of what happens at a human death is ritual. People who wish theirs to be dealt with a certain way, and who wish a particular treatment likecremationof their body, should decide in advance and set up the necessary payments and agreements. This makes it much easier for their family after they die, since there is no longer the ability to clearly communicate the wish.

For the same reason, saying goodbye is important. Most of thestressof death seems to come for loved ones who "did not have a chance to say goodbye".

Maybe it is to relieve this stress that rituals are created, and to bring together those that knew someone so that the personal experience a person can no longer communicate for themselves, can be exchanged by others.

Some ritual, such as seances, claim to allow people to speak to the dead. This is not claimed to be very reliable, both byscientistsand even by those who do them very often.

Preparing for death

Aside from wills, goodbyes, organ donations and funerals, there is important personal experience to decide to pass on, or not, when someone knows they may soon die. Palliative care focuses on basic decisions people make when they are very close to the end of their lives, and it ensures someone is always available to talk to them. It is a replacement for heroic medical intervention that may keep them physically alive but with noquality of life.Humanpsychologymust prepare for death if it is anything other than a quick surprise:

Elizabeth Kubler-Rosswrote that there were several stages indying,of which denial was the first, and acceptance was the last. Recording one's life is often something people with acceptance will do to leave amemoiror a fullautobiography:

Because events leaveliving memory,and may only be part oforal tradition,there are projects to record everything that people remember aboutWorld War Iand theShoah.The first of these was to record everything remembered about theU.S. Civil War.This discipline has changedhistorysince we have so many morefirst person accountsof the times, and madesocial historymuch more standard.

Other terms for death

There are othertermsfor death. Examples are, "to pass away", "to go to a better place", "to buy the farm" (generally used in themilitary), "to leave the earth", "big sleep", and "to kick the bucket". the termgonemay also be a term for describing death.for example:if a person has died, they are also said to begone,as ingone to a better placeorno longer here.

Unnatural causes of death

Old age and illness are not the only things that can end a person's life. People make other people die. This is calledkillingormurder.Three famous murders areJohn Wilkes BoothkillingAbraham Lincoln,James Earl RaykillingMartin Luther King Jr.andLee Harvey Oswaldkilling thePresident of the United StatesJohn F. Kennedy.People can also die byaccidentsresulting in terminaltrauma,hypothermia,starvation,suicideanddehydration.

Related pages

• Funeral
• Death (personification)
• Will (law)