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To truly understand the subject of death, you have to be able to define it. Here, discover how the definition of death exists on multiple levels and how each of these levels - the religious, biological, philosophical, cultural, legal, and political - determines when a living being becomes a dead one.
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In America, death rituals display a remarkable diversity and range from the minimalist to the extravagant. Chart the evolution of American funerals by looking at three major periods: the traditional (exemplified by Puritan burial rites), the modern (characterized by professionalization), and the post-modern (where loved ones play a more active role).
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None of us can avoid dying. But some believe we can learn how to die well. Professor Berkson introduces you to ways that others have faced death (with regret, dignity, even rage) and also considers some of the practical ways we can make the best of our deaths when our time comes.
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Explore how it's possible for us to find meaning in life - even when confronted with the finality of it. Drawing on the work of cultural anthropologist Ernest Becker, discover how forms of death denial serve to allay fears about our insignificance, and how we can cultivate meaning in the face of mortality.
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Since the dawn of humanity, corpses have held lasting significance for us. In this lecture, probe the various ways human civilizations have "disposed" of corpses - from burial (the oldest method for which evidence still exists) and mummification to cremation and natural exposure (known as "excarnation").
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Start your exploration of this profound topic with a helpful overview of how we, as human beings, think about death. What place does it occupy in our lives? How have our attitudes about it changed over time? What symbols and euphemisms do we use to talk about it?
7) Death, Dying, and the Afterlife: Lessons from World Cultures: Understanding and Coping with Grief
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In this lecture on what Professor Berkson calls "an inescapable part of the human condition," unpack the feelings and behaviors of the grieving process. Topics include the evolutionary benefits of grief, the five stages of grief laid out by Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, and the three categories of grieving identified by psychologist George Bonanno.
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Do you find yourself wanting more out of life? It's time to bring play to your every day
Play is not just for kids! There are many reasons we need play in our lives. The Playful Life shows you why and how to bring more playfulness to all aspects of your life. You'll explore how to create meaningful, relevant, and fun experiences for yourself and others through both a playful mindset and playful behaviors. Through research and 20+ years of teaching...
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Should death be considered "bad"? Should we even bother fearing it? As you reflect on philosophical arguments by the ancient Epicurus (who thought death wasn't bad for the dead) and the modern Thomas Nagel (who believes we should fear death), you'll consider the possibility that both sides are right.
10) Death, Dying, and the Afterlife: Lessons from World Cultures: Judaism on Death and the Afterlife
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In the first of several lectures on how major world faiths approach death, the focus is on Judaism. From the importance of mourning and burial rites to the recent resurgence in American Jewish belief in an afterlife, go inside the evolving views on death and the afterlife in Jewish history.
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Death serves as the horizon against which our lives unfold and shapes the choices we make about how to live. In fact, the knowledge of mortality has inspired much of human activity—religion, philosophy, music and visual arts, even scientific endeavors and monumental architecture have all been driven by our understanding of death. Whether viewed as a transition to paradise or punishment, an ultimate separation or ecstatic joining, the end of existence...
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This collection shows what happens when facing the inevitable and sometimes expected death of a parent, and how such an ordinary part of life as parental death might connect with the children left behind. In many ways, individual deaths are extraordinary and leave a unique legacy—a kind of haunting.
The authors' accounts seek to make sense of death through witnessing its enactment and recording its detail. All the authors are experienced researchers...
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Grief is the emotion experienced by discovery; death of a person; and loss of a place, thing, time, art, and music. The discovery pertains to extramarital affair; cheating in a relationship; and addictions to drugs, alcohol, gambling, pornography, wrong doing, etc. The loss of a person pertains to the relationship, i.e., friendship, dating, breakups, caregiver, divorce, and separation in the family. The loss of a place pertains to moving from a home...
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From euthanizing a sick dog to slaughtering cows for food, how do we reconcile our feelings about killing when it comes to the non-human animals around us? Ponder the moral and spiritual dimensions of the death of other animals--and what that might reveal about our views of our own mortality.
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There is a time and a season to all things, and death is an inevitable part of the circle of life.
Oral traditions from all over the world are full of stories giving shape to the very human wish to defy death – our own death and the deaths of others. Folk Tales of the Ever After is a collection of traditional tales from a range of cultures which is, by turns, funny, challenging and touching.
From a man in Baghdad who tries to outrun Death, to...
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Great Courses volume 17
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In the last half-century, suicide rates have increased nearly 60% worldwide. This is your opportunity to investigate ways to think about this stigmatized subject. You'll examine what great philosophers and holy books say about suicide, and consider the numerous factors that sometimes compel people to take their own lives.
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Great Courses volume 22
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Explore the mysterious topic of near-death experiences (NDEs). You'll encounter fascinating stories told by survivors themselves; explore the scientific studies behind - and possible explanations for - this increasingly common phenomenon; survey the four major types of NDEs; and join the passionate debate between NDE believers and skeptics.
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Great Courses volume 20
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In this lecture, Professor Berkson discusses the nature of capital punishment, the moral arguments for and against it, and whether or not the practice accomplishes its intended purposes. Specifically, you'll focus on capital punishment as it's practiced in the United States, where debate has long been intense.
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After thousands of years of pondering it, we still find death one of life's most perplexing mysteries. Many cultures view death as a window into the true meaning of life.
These 24 lectures looking at this often feared subject are an uplifting, meaningful, and multidisciplinary exploration of life's only certainty. Bringing together theology, philosophy, biology, anthropology, literature, psychology, sociology, and other fields, they are a brilliant...
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"Lifetimes of effort go into organizing, designing, and structuring every aspect of our lives, but how many people are willing to contemplate the inevitability of death? Although dying is an essential part of life, it is an uncomfortable topic that most people avoid. With no idea what will happen when we die and a strong desire to sidestep the conversation, we make all kinds of assumptions. Living Is Dying collects teachings about death and the bardos...
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