[Maturation of the patient's personality ante finem]

The group of thanatological problems comprises also the question what happens in the patient's psyche in the last stage of his life. It was found that not only degeneration occurs but also the last stage of maturation of the personality. The author mentions concepts of maturation of the personality and characteristics of people coping well with the stress of death. Hardiness is a decisive characteristic of the personality of people who are a support for the dying. In the conclusion the author draws attention to the need to extend the curricula vitae of physicians by problems of philosophical anthropology.