The Anticipatory Corpse: Medicine, Power, and the Care of the Dying

432 Pages·2011·12.15 MB·English

by  Jeffrey P. Bishop

Jeffrey p. Bishop

meDicine,
power, AnD
The cAre of
The Dying
Bishop-00FM_Layout 1 8/8/11 1:48 PM Page i
The AnTicipATory corpse
Bishop-00FM_Layout 1 8/8/11 1:48 PM Page ii
noTre DAme sTuDies in meDicAl eThics
David Solomon, series editor
The purpose of the Notre Dame Studies in Medical Ethics series,
sponsored by the Notre Dame Center for Ethics and Culture, is to
publish works that specifically address contemporary issues in the
field of medicine. The aim is to foster a systematic and rational dis-
cussion of medical ethical problems grounded in Catholic intellec-
tual tradition and moral vision.
Bishop-00FM_Layout 1 8/8/11 1:48 PM Page iii
Jeffrey p. Bishop
meDicine,
power, AnD
The cAre of
The Dying
universiTy of noTre DAme press

noTre DAme, inDiAnA
Bishop-00FM_Layout 1 8/8/11 1:48 PM Page iv
University of Notre Dame Press
Notre Dame, Indiana 46556
www.undpress.nd.edu
All Rights Reserved
Copyright © 2011 by University of Notre Dame Press
Published in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Bishop, Jeffrey Paul.
The anticipatory corpse : medicine, power, and the care of the dying /
Jeffrey P. Bishop.
p.; cm. — (Notre Dame studies in medical ethics)
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN-13: 978-0-268-02227-3 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-10: 0-268-02227-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
ISBN-13: 978-0-268-15807-1 (web pdf)
I. Title. II. Series: Notre Dame studies in medical ethics.
[DNLM: 1. Ethics, Clinical—United States. 2. Terminal Care—
ethics—United States. 3. Attitude to Death—United States.
4.Thanatology—United States. WB 60]
LC-classification not assigned
174.2—dc23

2011025673
∞ The paper in this book meets the guidelines for permanence

and durability of the Committee on Production Guidelines
for Book Longevity of the Council on Library Resources.
Bishop-00FM_Layout 1 8/8/11 1:48 PM Page v
For Nancy
Quid enim est quod volo dicere, domine, nisi quia nescio
unde venerim huc, in istam dico vitam mortalem an mortem
vitalem? Nescio. [What have I to say to thee God save that
I know not where I came from when I came into the life-
in-death; or should I call it death-in-life? I do not know.]
—St. Augustine of Hippo
Bishop-00FM_Layout 1 8/8/11 1:48 PM Page vi
Watermelon
Ed Madden
Summers on the family farm,
watermelons mark off the days
with sweet irregularity, a coda
to the lush heat of the afternoon,
left bobbing in the cold swirl
of the rice field’s well pool,
or frosting green in the icebox—
the flower fallen in on itself,
the node on the vine grown
thick and round, grown heavy
with the gravity of sweetness.
This summer like any other—
insects fizzing under lights
at evening, and the crickets
silent at midday. We are
the nephews, we don’t
have to speak or cry,
or watch the preacher.
We only have to grasp
the rail that flanks the coffin,

lift it, gently, carry it, slowly,
from the front of the church
Bishop-00FM_Layout 1 8/8/11 1:48 PM Page vii
to the hearse humming outside.
The funeral has been well planned—
the hymns she chose last spring,
the shovels Uncle Henry has waiting
in a pickup near the grave.
What is not planned
is the watermelon.
The watermelon Henry wants,
retrieved from the nearby shop,
and the pale blue cooler of cokes—
my brother and I return
to the shed blazers and the vivid wilt
of silk dresses, return,
our arms full of grace:
the chunks of pink sugar,
the sweet juice, wet seeds
and rinds like green jewels
on the cemetery lawn.

Used with the author’s permission
Bishop-00FM_Layout 1 8/8/11 1:48 PM Page viii
Bishop-00FM_Layout 1 8/8/11 1:48 PM Page ix
Contents
Acknowledgments xi
Prelude 1
chApTer 1. Birthing the Clinic 28
chApTer 2. Maturing the Clinic 61
Transition One 89
chApTer 3. The Machinations of Life 96
chApTer 4. Embracing Death 119
chApTer 5. Commissioning Death:
From Living Cadavers to Dead Brains 141
chApTer 6. The Exact Location of Death:

From Brain to Sovereign 168