ABSTRACT
This chapter examines some cultural and social aspects related to persons who are dying or closely approaching death, as well as the care they are offered. The challenge we face is that there are myriad cultural and social variables that may affect dying in any historical and social situation because historical circumstances differ across time and in different communities. Accordingly, societal death systems change in their responses to specific challenges. More importantly, because dying is not the whole of anyone’s life, it is critical to keep in mind that dying persons are living human beings. Dying is a special situation in living; it cannot properly or fully be understood without taking account of the entirety of a person’s life, both individually and within the social systems in which that person is living.
