Death and dying
Creativity
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To be creative, Chinese philosophy teaches us to abandon ‘originality’
Whether grieving a death or connecting to colleagues, creativity enables an artful life, according to Chinese philosophy
by Julianne Chung
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
History of ideas
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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
Grief
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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
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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
Rituals and celebrations
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Mourning is a leap to freedom, inviting new dreams of living
Mourning is a leap in the dark, but not into darkness. It’s a leap to freedom that invites us to dream of living once more
by Alexander Hirsch
Meaning and the good life
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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
Death and dying
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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
Altered states
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Altered states can help us face death with serenity and levity
Near-death and out-of-body experiences can help us embrace our impermanence, letting us live and face death with serenity
by Sam Gandy, Samantha Treasure, Jade Shaw & Alexander Beiner
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
Death and dying
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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
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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