DEATH

Ideas about what constitutes death vary with different cultures and in different epochs. In Western societies, death has traditionally been seen as the departure of the soul from the body. In this tradition, the essence of being human is independent of physical properties. Because the soul has no corporeal manifestation, its departure cannot be seen or otherwise objectively determined; hence, in this tradition, the cessation of breathing has been taken as the sign of death.
In modern times, death has been thought to occur when the vital functions cease—breathing and circulation (as evidenced by the beating of the heart). This view has been challenged, however, as medical advances have made it possible to sustain respiration and cardiac functioning through mechanical means. Thus, more recently, the concept of brain death has gained acceptance. In this view, the irreversible loss of brain activity is the sign that death has occurred. A majority of the states in the United States had accepted brain death as an essential sign of death by the late 1980s.
Even the concept of brain death has been challenged in recent years, because a person can lose all capacity for higher mental functioning while lower-brain functions, such as spontaneous respiration, continue. For this reason, some authorities now argue that death should be considered the loss of the capacity for consciousness or social interaction. The sign of death, according to this view, is the absence of activity in the higher centers of the brain, principally the neocortex.
Society's conception of death is of more than academic interest. Rapidly advancing medical technology has raised moral questions and introduced new problems in defining death legally. Among the issues being debated are the following: Who shall decide the criteria for death—physicians, legislatures, or each person for him- or herself? Is advancement of the moment of death by cutting off artificial support morally and legally permissible? Do people have the right to demand that extraordinary measures be stopped so that they may die in peace? Can the next of kin or a legal guardian act for the comatose dying person under such circumstances? All these questions have acquired new urgency with the advent of human tissue transplantation. The need for organs must be weighed against the rights of the dying donor.
As a result of such questions, a number of groups have sought to establish an individual's “right to die,” particularly through the legal means of “living wills” in which an individual confers the right to withdrawal of life-sustaining treatment upon family members or legal figures. By 1991, 40 states in the United States had recognized the validity of some form of living-will arrangement, although complex questions remain to be settled in all these instances

I always wonder what's really like when I die..... will I see her again? What will the world look like when I die? What will be the reaction of the people when they know that I passed away?? But I dont want to find it out now!! Life's too good to waste it, I can't leave her alone... hehehe PROMISE I WONT LEAVE YOU!!