The Death Thread

[kensei]

I apologize if there's already a thread like this. I haven't seen any lately, so if there is, consider this a revamp of an old idea >.>

Well, I recently started my senior year, and am taking thanantolgy for my English requirment. Thanantology is the study of death and what have you. Taking such a class gives one many an opportunity to self-exam their views on what lies beyond the inevitable end. I'll share my thoughts on the subject depending on how well this thread goes over *nods*

[Jay]

Dumbledore states: "Death is but the next great adventure".

I don't agree to the point of that, but hey, death is coming sooner or later. Everyone dies, and if you're time's up it's up. I'm not afraid of death.

[Arctic_Slicer]

It's a philosophy class right?

[Monkey]

You can never know in this life what's beyond death, so why waste time thinking about it?

[Collapse]

For the time being, let Eros guide you so that when Thanatos comes, you've got nothing to worry about, since you lived a good life. As inevitable it may seem, many people treat every day of their lives like its their last day to live. You appreciate life more because you're going to die and everything beautiful doesn't last forever.

Anyway, my take on the subject.

[Kuhool]

i don't fear death, i just wonder the specifics after it.

[Mechs]

I'm not scared of death. I'm just scared of how I'll die. I just dont want it to be long and drawn out. Just want it to be over really quick so I dont suffer much.

[MeneerDijk]

I think it's just lights out after death. I don't believe in a heaven or hell where you can get in depending on your highscore in life. Roaming the earth for eternity is also pointless, and it would get very busy with lost souls. Maybe there is reincarnation, but we wouldn't remember anyway, so there's no point in that.

Anyway, i hope not to find out for a long time

[PiccoloNamek]

I'm not afraid of death. I am, however, afraid of dying. If at all possible, I'd like to attain biological immortality, the only kind of real immortality there is.

[NERD]

Human beings are one of the fewest creatures one Earth that actually have the concept of death. And I don't care what people said here, I am afraid to die because I don't know what it would be like after death, but more importantly, I want to live, I don't want my life ended yet.

That said, the study about death should be very interesting, what with the theological approach to it, psychological approach to it, etc. And how it shapes our lives. Am I the only one who thinks it's a bit silly to go through the whole ordeal we go through just to take care of one dead body, either that be burial, cremation, or vultures tearing through my carcass, if I were a Zoroastrian.

Was Thanatology coupled with another course? I'm an English major as well, and had to take Tragedy/Comedy as a two-part class over two semesters.

[akitaka]

Too many people split life and death as "opposites, existing becuase of each other", I think. Life/death are akin to beginning and end; they're just interpretations of what is already there.
The ends of a stick seem like two different places, when it's only really a whole stick with "ends" to analyze and define. They're just there, so why look so closely?

Personally I don't fear it to much of any scale, but it's more fearful to be trapped in a sense of "being dead" while your heart is beating. An example of this is imprisonment; the metaphor of being alive is non-existant in the experience, so all you might want to do (depending on your personality) is "get it over with". This is the mindset of anyone who's suicidal, for that matter.

Religion focuses too much on one answer for death, so on the subject they could be moot. Philosophies like Taoism, or the Yin/Yang principle of integration, feels most logical. Opposing elements that thrive on the same spectrum? That's basically a lot of what life is, right there.

[NERD]

Too many people split life and death as "opposites, existing becuase of each other", I think. Life/death are akin to beginning and end; they're just interpretations of what is already there.
The ends of a stick seem like two different places, when it's only really a whole stick with "ends" to analyze and define. They're just there, so why look so closely?

Because the concept/question of life/death has been fascinating and enthralling people ever since they stopped picking their nose ans started to THINK. Everyone has his/her own concept of what death is/should be/could be/must be/would be, and whether it is based upon religion, life experiences, etc, it is nonetheless very interesting.

On a personal note, I am a very pragmatic person who also keeps counting his wants and needs on hourly basis, to the point that I'm wondering what would be nice for breakfast, scrambled eggs or omelets, before I go to sleep. And I do not have any personal experience about death, which is the superunknown. As a human being, what I do not know intimidates me. The idea that tomorrow won't come for me is something I am not ready to accept yet either, as I am in the prime of my life, so to speak. That is why I am afraid of dying. And I don't think it's cowardly to think that way. Because I'm afraid of dying, perhaps that would make me do more in my life before I meet my end.

Personally I don't fear it to much of any scale, but it's more fearful to be trapped in a sense of "being dead" while your heart is beating. An example of this is imprisonment; the metaphor of being alive is non-existant in the experience, so all you might want to do (depending on your personality) is "get it over with". This is the mindset of anyone who's suicidal, for that matter.

I don't agree with you there. It's your mind thinking that you have no purpose in life and just want to die, but the problem with explaining life or death is because the experience is relative to everyone, that it is hard to reach an universal answer to the related questions. Suicidals and prisoners still have the luxury of being both alive and conscious at the same time, which was not something Terry Schiavo could enjoy- or so she would've told me if she could.

Religion focuses too much on one answer for death, so on the subject they could be moot. Philosophies like Taoism, or the Yin/Yang principle of integration, feels most logical. Opposing elements that thrive on the same spectrum? That's basically a lot of what life is, right there.

Religion focuses on death because that's probably the number 1 fear for people, myself included. I mean, as far as human beings go, the instinct to survive and reproduce are priorities 1 and 2, and everything else is secondary. And that answer was sufficient enough for the suicide bombers who believed in a better afterlife than their boring 'real' life. I'm interested if they actuallyy found their promised virgins in heaven, only to find fellow suicide bombers in a raging sausagefest, before they realize it's one of the new circles of Hell. If they exist, that is.

Taoism blurs between philosophy and religion, be careful of that. I find even the concept of Yin and Yang to be a bit narrow- maybe if it's Yin, Yang and Tang. I just don't think seeing the world of black and white is sophisticated enough, there are other invisibles, other ungraspable concepts that exist that cannot be explained.

[Kash]

Death is the last expectation of your life. It's the only thing that gets you out of paying taxes.

Aside from that, around these parts you have two choices. A weird verson of some egyptian process which renders your body fairly inedible to worms and such, or residing on someone's mantle as mostly carbon.

I think the embalming process is, in a word, fucking weird. It almost creeps me out. Not that dead things do, but just the silly and bizzare compulsion that somepeople have to try and "preserve" a corpse. I just can't imagine the mind set of somepeople that want to have their body "pickled". This leave cremation. I'll take that because it's the less weird thing to do. If I had my druthers, I'd say leave my corpse alone and dig a hole, drop me in it, and plant an apple tree above me. Then I could nourish the tree as I decomposed and people could say, "gee, Kash's tree sure makes tastey apples". That would seem normal and natural to me.

[Fallen Angel]

I don't fear dead, I fear immortality. Being dead is normal. When you're immortal you see everyone you love die while you still are alive, you're still young while they are old, you are healty while they are sick, etc...

[Annoying MSN Person]

Death is the biggest bitch there ever was. It smells like lavender. It sounds like Purcell's Dido and Aeneus. It feels like a spring morning. It tastes like salty tears. It looks.... beyond my ability to verbalise.

Even after the person is gone, you can hold their hand and swear you feel it squeezing yours back. Who is to say what goes on after death. I don't care. All that matters is what has gone on in the life of that person. And how many people are left behind devastated.

argh. shouldn't have tried posting here.

[NERD]

I saw a docunmentary called "A Certain Kind of Death" quite awhile ago, a year or two. It was about people who die alone, without any family, relative or acquaintances to follow the procedures that must be taken care of after a person dies- which is a lot. These people are usually found dead days after, so you can imagine what it must be like. There are specialists who move in, move the body, and remove whatever that is left there. As the body is cremated, there are others who try to contact anyone that may be willing to recover the personal belongings or the ashes of the deceased, yet the search for such people are often futile. Then, they take care of the money by paying for the cost of cremating, cleaning after, etc, and sell off the belongings in an auction.

What struck me was how there are people who makes a living after the dead, and it's certainly an aspect of the society I was not aware of. While the deceased being portrayed as it is, with the grisly details and whatnot, the people cleaning after just took as it was work to do, which they have to do five days a week, all year long.

And while some may say that's a miserable way to go, and would picture someone who's anti-social, hermit and stuff, the people working in the field didn't think so. Often times these people were unfortunate to have their acquaintances pass away earlier or out of touch, and lived a life until the last day.

It's a heck of a film.

[kensei]

"To me, death means simply this: loss. You lose everything you’ve worked so hard in life to achieve. Everything that made this purgatory worth living in is stripped away from you. How can there be a heaven that takes us from those that we love most? When it’s all said and done, I’ll be alone in death. I will never know the touch of my girlfriend's skin or the gentle embrace of my family’s open arms. Never to hear my Brittany’s seraphic voice, or my parent’s well-meaning advice again…How can I hope for salvation when this is what it supposedly holds for me?"

-paraphrased from an essay I wrote for thanantology

That's pretty much my view on it. I don't fear death, I fear loss.

(in regards to the actual class: it's just one class we can take to complete our English requirments in high school. It's probably one of the more interesting classes, really)

[NERD]

Are you in high school? I would've liked my high school better if they offered thanatology, except that Goth kids would fistfight their way to get in.

[akitaka]

Suicidals and prisoners still have the luxury of being both alive and conscious at the same time, which was not something Terry Schiavo could enjoy- or so she would've told me if she could.

Very much agreed, there. I think I threw myself off the boat for a bit when I mentioned suicidals; death and emotions only collide with action, and without the action to link the two they are on generally different playing fields. The Schiavo example was much better; where you don't have a choice, period.

And I think Tang would be, nice too. In a glass :)


In my HES100 class, a mortician came to speak and had her partner come in, as well. They were no different than anyone I've known, and the one thing they've noted is that they are taking care of bodies, and not "the dead". At least that's the mindset they seem to play.
On the other hand, you might get a different story from someone who sees people who are in the process of dying; hospital workers in the E.R. can be a prime example. Unlike the dead in the morgue, the patients still show what they feel; bouts of pain, dissapointment, worry, even anger. As a doctor you'd have to have some damn good people skills and patience to cope with all of that.

[kensei]

Are you in high school? I would've liked my high school better if they offered thanatology, except that Goth kids would fistfight their way to get in.
Yeah, I'm in my senior year. And actually, there isn't a single wannabe-goth in my class. Crazy, huh?

[NERD]

death and emotions only collide with action, and without the action to link the two they are on generally different playing fields.

And I think Tang would be, nice too. In a glass :)


In my HES100 class, a mortician came to speak and had her partner come in, as well. They were no different than anyone I've known, and the one thing they've noted is that they are taking care of bodies, and not "the dead". At least that's the mindset they seem to play.
On the other hand, you might get a different story from someone who sees people who are in the process of dying; hospital workers in the E.R. can be a prime example. Unlike the dead in the morgue, the patients still show what they feel; bouts of pain, dissapointment, worry, even anger. As a doctor you'd have to have some damn good people skills and patience to cope with all of that.

Yup. Death and the emotions related to them are separate, that's what methinks. Ditto on the Tang! One of the best thing that came out of Space Age. Much better than space ice cream anyway.

People working in the ER seem to dislike it since most people who are sent there are suffering from critical wounds/disease and not likely to make it. Regardless of what your perception about what death is, it's quite easy to imagine the emotions they are surrounded with, and get infected with. So many hospital drama/sitcoms have demonstrated that I don't need to go any further. Scrubs is the best one imo.

What surprised me about the film was the whole process behind the death of people with no next of kin. For that alone it is worth watching the film. And I'm pretty sure morticians are all like us, except they have the key to the Underworld...
Yeah, I'm in my senior year. And actually, there isn't a single wannabe-goth in my class. Crazy, huh?

Unexpected, I'd say. Perhaps the Goths at your school are aliens in disguise. What better costume than the Goth kids to be everywhere yet have the luxury of people not approaching you? That, and the homeless. :D

[Jormungand]

death smiles at us all. all we can do is smile back

[Sk8More]

Are you gonna become a Forensic Investigator? I wanted to eb that till I learned it took 7 or 8 years.

[Overkongen]

Hmmm, I wouldn't say that I fear death. That having been said, I do feel adverse to not living.