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Death and dying

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Photo of an elderly man sitting on a chair surrounded by various ornate coffins in a room with a chequered floor.

Death and dying

idea

As a society, we’re not death phobic, we’re death complacent

Our culture is routinely diagnosed with an excessive fear of mortality. A calm look at the evidence tells a different story

by Ingemar Patrick Linden

A woman in sunlight with eyes closed, wearing a pink top sitting by a shadowy wall and green plant.

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

Man relaxing on a striped lounge chair with hands behind his head, outside on a lawn, flanked by other coloured chairs and an opened beer bottle nearby.

Grief

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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

Shattered glass fragments scattered on a grey surface with a blurred background. Some pieces are mid-air, capturing the moment of a glass object crashing and breaking. The image portrays motion and impact.

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

People walking on a city street bathed in sunlight, with American flags hanging on buildings in the background. Shadows are cast on the pavement, and tall buildings line the street, creating a dramatic, contrasting light and shadow effect.

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

Two traditional-style pagodas in a grassy field under a blue sky with scattered clouds, with mist and mountains in the background.

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

Close-up of elderly hands clasped together, with prominent wrinkles, wearing an orange jumper with dark brown trim.

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

Archaeological dig showing three weathered stone head sculptures, partially buried in the ground.

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

A cyclist rides on a curving road through a scenic countryside at sunset, surrounded by trees and greenery.

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

Painting of a man on a leafy balcony with potted plants and German text on the wall below.

Thinkers and theories

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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

Painting of a chaotic ancient city in flames, with a large statue and crowds fleeing across a bridge over a turbulent sea.

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

Photo of a close-up leaf on a branch, with a grey building marked “IFANG” in the blurred background.

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