Death and dying
Death and dying
idea
It’s not foolish to foster hope in the face of illness and death
As a great loss loomed, I feared straying too far from the hard truth. But I learned to distinguish denial from hope
by Christiana Boules
Grief
idea
Why do so many of us blame ourselves after a loved one’s death?
After losing my father, I felt the guilt and regret that burden many other bereaved people – and found a way to carry them
by Delaney Rebernik
Grief
idea
Grief is not a process with five stages. It is shattered glass
The five stages describe a grief that’s knowable and controlled. An accident in my kitchen helped me find a truer metaphor
by Joshua Thomas
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