Disciple of Prometheus
12th April 2006, 00:00
"I. Reaction to Death
As previously noted, primitive man's reaction to death was one of fear.
In this enlightened age, man still reacts to death with fear.
Death is still an unknown. No one obviously, has ever died and returned to tell us what death is really like. Man naturally fears what he does not understand and can not control.
The so-called "near-death" experience is still not a death experience. We can never know exactly what death is, so we can never fully understand it.
Therefore we can never stop totally from fearing it.
Much of our response to death is avoidance. Death is not a pleasant topic of conversation. When death must be talked about, it is usually done in academic terms.
Talking about death on a personal level creates discomfort. It is much easier to talk about death in terms of, "People die," rather than in terms of, "Someday I will die."
Within the last 20 years or so, much has been written about death and dying. At times it seemed like everyone who has suffered a loss was writing a book about it.
Each death is unique and therefore each person's experience is unique. That makes much of the material available unusable for another person experiencing a loss through death.
Indeed some of the advice available becomes contradictory simply because each person must deal with their own grief in their own way. "-The Psychology of Death (http://www.wyfda.org/basics_4.html)
I though this would be an interesting topic to bring up considering what a role death has played in the evolving psychology of man, and how said psychology has influenced society and politics. I think the inevitability of death is what drives us to do what we do, and everything seems to be a reactionary mask, to hide this fate.
An example is why do we hide aging? I think yea for aesthetic reasons sure, but also aging is a sign that we are nearing death, so could it also be said that this covering up of age is due to fear that we now have a visible sign of our getting closer to death?
We even try to prolong the longevity of the dead's corpse, why? We dress them up in perfumes, fancy dress, and pump them full of chemicals and solutions to keep them to look "alive," for as long as possible, why? I think it is because we can't handle seeing the reality of death right in front of us, sure we can bare to see someone who looks like they are "just sleeping," but when confronted with long dead bodies, and such, we become instantly horrified beyond belief. This is not a new phenomenon, funeral rites and such, have been performed for ages, no more apparent than the mummies of pharaohs and queens in Egypt.
Any thoughts?
As previously noted, primitive man's reaction to death was one of fear.
In this enlightened age, man still reacts to death with fear.
Death is still an unknown. No one obviously, has ever died and returned to tell us what death is really like. Man naturally fears what he does not understand and can not control.
The so-called "near-death" experience is still not a death experience. We can never know exactly what death is, so we can never fully understand it.
Therefore we can never stop totally from fearing it.
Much of our response to death is avoidance. Death is not a pleasant topic of conversation. When death must be talked about, it is usually done in academic terms.
Talking about death on a personal level creates discomfort. It is much easier to talk about death in terms of, "People die," rather than in terms of, "Someday I will die."
Within the last 20 years or so, much has been written about death and dying. At times it seemed like everyone who has suffered a loss was writing a book about it.
Each death is unique and therefore each person's experience is unique. That makes much of the material available unusable for another person experiencing a loss through death.
Indeed some of the advice available becomes contradictory simply because each person must deal with their own grief in their own way. "-The Psychology of Death (http://www.wyfda.org/basics_4.html)
I though this would be an interesting topic to bring up considering what a role death has played in the evolving psychology of man, and how said psychology has influenced society and politics. I think the inevitability of death is what drives us to do what we do, and everything seems to be a reactionary mask, to hide this fate.
An example is why do we hide aging? I think yea for aesthetic reasons sure, but also aging is a sign that we are nearing death, so could it also be said that this covering up of age is due to fear that we now have a visible sign of our getting closer to death?
We even try to prolong the longevity of the dead's corpse, why? We dress them up in perfumes, fancy dress, and pump them full of chemicals and solutions to keep them to look "alive," for as long as possible, why? I think it is because we can't handle seeing the reality of death right in front of us, sure we can bare to see someone who looks like they are "just sleeping," but when confronted with long dead bodies, and such, we become instantly horrified beyond belief. This is not a new phenomenon, funeral rites and such, have been performed for ages, no more apparent than the mummies of pharaohs and queens in Egypt.
Any thoughts?