Death and dying
Death and dying
idea
Why so many of us see our loved ones after they have died
These experiences – which are more of an illusion than a hallucination – can be a healthy part of the grieving process
by Shayla Love
Rituals and celebrations
idea
Together forever: ‘at-home burial’ in southern Vietnam
What might a traveller along the Mekong Delta learn about the beliefs and traditions behind the country’s elevated tombs?
by Gina Elia
Ageing
idea
Efforts to expand the lifespan ignore what it’s like to get old
As modern medicine extends the human lifespan, quality of life is not keeping up, raising thorny ethical dilemmas
by Robert S Gable
Death and dying
idea
Why ancient Mesopotamians buried their dead beneath the floor
In an age before photos or audio recordings, people found other ways to stay sensorially connected to their deceased
by Nicola Laneri
Death and dying
idea
I thought I knew everything about death. Then grief struck me
Even though I grew up in Death World, and still live there, it couldn’t prepare me for being my family’s sole survivor
by John Troyer
Thinkers and theories
idea
For Nietzsche, nihilism goes deeper than ‘life is pointless’
For Friedrich Nietzsche, nihilism is a terrible psychological problem – a coping mechanism with deadly consequences
by Kaitlyn Creasy
History of ideas
idea
How the ancient philosophers imagined the end of the world
How the ancient Greeks and Romans imagined the end of the world, and what we can learn from them today about catastrophe
by Christopher Star
Death and dying
idea
Should assisted death be available for intractable mental illness?
As a psychiatrist I am extremely wary of even the most careful provisions of assisted dying for people with mental illness
by Marie Nicolini
Meaning and the good life
idea
The immortalists have got it wrong – here’s why we need death
The immortalists say beating death will lead to peace. But what if mortality is our bittersweet path to love and harmony?
by Susan Cain
Grief
idea
Seeing grieving as learning explains why the process takes time
Standard features of human memory and learning can help explain the disorientation that follows the death of a loved one
by Saren H Seeley & Mary-Frances O’Connor
Spirituality and religion
idea
Near-death experiences have long inspired afterlife beliefs
Through time and across cultures, near-death experiences share common themes and have inspired beliefs about the afterlife
by Gregory Shushan
History of emotions
idea
‘It cannot be helped’: on facing death as calmly as a pirate
‘Don’t make yourself uneasy, for it cannot be helped’: how to face death calmly and generously, like a pirate facing execution
by Rebecca Simon