TELEVISION

Death, Dying, and the Afterlife: Lessons from World Cultures

Series: Great Courses
4.5
(26)
Episodes
24
Rating
TVPG
Year
2016
Language
English

About

Bringing together theology, philosophy, biology, anthropology, literature, psychology, and sociology, these lectures are a brilliant compendium of how human beings have struggled to come to terms with death. You'll encounter everything from ancient burial practices and traditional views of the afterlife to near-death experiences and 21st-century theories about transcending death.

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Episodes

1 to 3 of 24

1. Death's Place in Our Lives

30m

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?

2. Defining Death

30m

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.

3. Death, Illusion, and Meaning

30m

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.

Extended Details

  • Closed CaptionsEnglish

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