ABSTRACT
The American faith in science and technology and the shared cultural commitment to individualism are seminal forces which underlie the social isolation of dying in America. The escalator-social-stigma of the dying process is a lamentable outcome of the social isolation of death in American society. While the technological management of the pain and suffering of dying has positively contributed to reducing some of the physical agony of dying, it has simultaneously resulted in a heightening of emotional and social isolation of the dying patient. The emotional, cultural, and social isolation of the dying patient from the community of the "well and living" is associated with the loss of self-esteem, identity deterioration and blemishment. The social and personal dying-with-dignity mandate and technological management facilitate the social isolation of the dying patient. Personal dying-with-dignity places the burden of successful and appropriate death squarely on the shoulders of the individual.
