From Government of the Living to Government of the Dead: Discourses that Operate for the Governance of Death

Abstract

Objective: Know the discourses on death and dying that in the artifacts available online in the Virtual Health Library (VHL ). Method: Through an integrated search in the VHL database, 16 articles were selected with the following descriptors: death, nursing and palliative care. Once the body of the research was formed along the lines of a thematic approach, the data produced were subjected to a textual analysis. The discussion of the data was undertaken in light of the notions of standardization and governmentality raised by the philosopher Michel Foucault. Results: The results show a tendency to standardize the process of dying pursuant to the philosophy of palliative care. Acceptance of death is perceived in objective terms, so those who are not experiencing and subjectified by that discourse are outside a stan- dard that is considered ideal. Moreover, this new model of care is emerging as a strategy for governance of the body, favored by a home environment and backed by different knowledge, such as religious and scientific. Conclusions: The establishment of this mode of care, as know-how built on scientific discourse, catches nurses in a weave of power when dealing with those who are in the process of dying.