Mortality, immortality and other life strategies (Polity Press)

Zygmunt Baumana s new book is a brilliant exploration, from a sociological point of view, of the a tabooa subject in modern societies: death and dying. The book develops a new theory of the ways in which human mortality is reacted to, and dealt with, in social institutions and culture. The hypothesis explored in the book is that the necessity of human beings to live with the constant awareness of death accounts for crucial aspects of the social organization of all known societies. Two different a life strategiesa are distinguished in respect of reactions to mortality. One, a the modern strategya, deconstructs mortality by translating the insoluble issue of death into many specific problems of health and disease which are a soluble in principlea. The a post--modern strategya is one of deconstructing immortality: life is transformed into a constant rehearsal of a reversible deatha, a substitution of a temporary disappearancea for the irrevocable termination of life. This profound and provocative book will appeal to a wide audience. It will also be of particular interest to students and professionals in the areas of sociology, anthropology, theology and philosophy.