The Concept of Death as a Social Equalizer: A Philosophical and Sociological Analysis

Nwabuatu; Emmanuel Nnajiubah. Ph.D

doi:10.56201/ijssmr.vol.11no11. 2025.pg164.181

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The Concept of Death as a Social Equalizer: A Philosophical and Sociological Analysis

Nwabuatu, Emmanuel Nnajiubah. Ph.D

Abstract

This article examines death's purported role as a universal equalizer in human society through philosophical and sociological perspectives. While death has traditionally been viewed as the ultimate leveler of social distinctions, contemporary research reveals a more complex reality. Through analysis of historical perspectives, empirical studies, and cross-cultural research, we demonstrate how socioeconomic disparities significantly influence mortality patterns, end-of-life experiences, and posthumous memorialization. The study particularly focuses on how modern technological advances and digital innovations have transformed death's social implications. Our findings suggest that while biological death remains universal, the experience and social consequences of death continue to reflect and reinforce existing social inequalities, challenging the traditional narrative of death as an absolute equalizer. [cite: 6]

Keywords

Death studiessocial inequalitythanatologydigital immortalitymedical sociologysocial stratification

References

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The Concept of Death as a Social Equalizer: A Philosophical and Sociological Analysis

Abstract

Keywords

References

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