Bad Death: Considerations on Violent Death in the Context of the Colombian Armed Conflict from the Andean Philosophie

Abstract

This paper studies death in the context of an armed confl ict. For this reason, it deals especially with violent death, called by the indigenous peoples as “bad death.” Th e main objectives are to explain the notion of “vital network” according to the relationality of the Andean philosophy and to reveal the implications that the bad death has in said vital network, i.e., in the relationship that the individual has with the community and the territory. It was found that the bad death can be considered as inhuman and evil because it breaks with the harmony of the vital network. This rupture begins with a trivialization of death, which translates into negation of human dignity; it continues with a trivialization of the relationship with the other, which spreads disrespect;
and, finally, the relationship with the environment is trivialized through the rejection of mutual support in the territory. These philosophical considerations are based mainly on testimonies from victims of the Colombian armed conflict and on philosophical studies on death in this context.