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

By: Mark Berkson, The Great Courses

Narrated by: Mark Berkson

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 compendium of how human beings have struggled to come to terms with mortality. You'll encounter everything from ancient burial practices, traditional views of the afterlife, and the five stages of grief to the question of killing during wartime, the phenomenon of near-death experiences, and even 21st-century theories about transcending death itself.

With personal and cultural enlightenment as the overarching goal, Professor Berkson provides you with eye-opening answers to several major questions surrounding death, including: How do we think about death? How do religions approach death? When (if ever) is it justified to take a life? You'll also hear a chorus of voices from multiple disciplines, cultures, and ages as they offer sometimes shocking and sometimes refreshing perspectives on death. These voices include the Buddha, St. Paul, Albert Camus, Dylan Thomas, and Elizabeth Kübler-Ross.

"Many religious traditions teach that a form of regular death reflection can deepen one's appreciation for life," Professor Berkson notes. "And in some traditions, it can actually lead to spiritual transformation or awakening. As the poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote, 'Whoever rightly understands and celebrates death at the same time magnifies life.'"

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying reference material will be available in your Library section along with the audio.

©2016 The Great Courses (P)2016 The Teaching Company, LLC

WOW

This was probably one of the best sets of lectures I've ever listened to. The professor is very knowledgeable about all the topics, I plan on listening to not from him, outstanding job

What do you believe?

This course offers multiple cultural and scientific explanations of beliefs held by us about death, dying, and what comes after (obvious from the title). It does not judge or have bias, but instead allows the listener to reflect and contemplate their beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors and find connections within other world cultures. Having recently lost a family member, I found that in listening to the ways different cultures honor lost love ones helped me heal in some way and makes it easier for me to talk about the loss with my family. I will definitely be listening to this course again and again.

Must listen!

I’ve listened to dozens of Great Courses and this is one of my favorites! The course is extremely thorough and explores the subject matter from a series of unexpected and truly thought-provoking angles. I didn’t expect the topics of human euthanasia or Tibetan death rituals or the death penalty to be covered, but I’m so glad the professor took the time to include these issues and perspectives in the discussion and to explore the topic of death so broadly. I feel like this course has genuinely changed the way I think about death and opened my eyes to the complexity and importance of thinking about death and dying in our world. This is everything that a great course should be: thorough, engaging, enlightening and applicable to listener’s real lives.

Brilliantly thought provoking!

We will all die. That’s a guarantee...at least for our present generation. Thus, this is a must read for all mortals. Think on death; don’t fear it, and learn how other humans have dealt with and continue to deal with our bodies inevitable end. Good read.

pretty good, but

this is a pretty good course. the professor tried very hard to be objective in areas of disagreement, and genuinely attempts to put forward a good case for each side of the debates he covers. that said, here are some criticisms

for one thing, in one of the lectures, he compares the image of south asian buddha to the "chinese buddha", saying that the latter is very large and full of life. he seems to be talking about bodai, a chinese folkloric figure who is not actually the buddha, but more like a santa claus type figure in chinese buddhism. it'd be like saying santa claus is american jesus

more importantly, despite his attempts, i found his layouts of the arguments for why fear of death is rational and why immortality would be a curse to be lacking. for one thing, he relies on the epicurean arguments for the case against rational fear of death. sadly, most of epicurus' writings are lost to history, so the arguments will never be complete. but even then, he doesn't represent the full argument. he retains the argument that death is nothing to us because we aren't around to experience it, but when he counters with the idea that we lose all the benefits life has to offer, he leaves out epicurus' comparison to enjoying a fine banquet and not wanting it to end, and how that would be considered gluttony. and when the professor brings up the case of a woman who writes a book and wants it to go big after she dies, but the friend she leaves it to doesn't get it published, he could have raised the stoic argument of the archer who can control his attempt to hit a target, while what happens to the arrow after it leaves his bow is beyond his control (dichotomy of control). and of course, you can even hear the professor slip into a non sequitur as he goes from "death is bad" to "we should fear death" in his arguments. to whatever extent he established the former, he does not establish the latter. arguments against the rationality of emotions, especially against negative emotions about the inevitable, are not raised

as for immortality, i find one of his arguments for the badness of immortality lacking as well. in response to the idea that immortality would not have to be boring because one could mentally contemplate indefinitely with joy, he responds that someone who could enjoy that wouldn't really be him. apart from reflecting the sad state of affairs of the professor's inner world, the fact is that people's habits and behaviors do change over the course of their ordinary lives, let alone over eternity. is this somehow bad? is it so bad to acquire skills over the course of your life that help you adapt to new circumstances? clearly not

it's been a while since i've heard the lecture on euthanasia, but i remember the arguments against it being similarly lacking as well

the professor concludes his lectures by saying death leaves him complex feelings. and after this journey of his, how could they not? death is scary, immortality is boring, rationally choosing to die is wrong, chinese buddha is santa claus—it's all topsy-turvy. but i think the picture is a lot simpler. i believe life is about coming to terms with the inevitable. in life, there will will be great loss, great pain, great sickness, old age, and death—it's unavoidable. i believe we can prepare ourselves for this at any time—the earlier, the better. i believe once we accept the inevitable, we will face it with equanimity, peace, and perhaps even joyful curiosity, in cases of only mild unease. i don't think there is any reason to fear these things

Death is what makes life so precious!

Taking this lesson was an awakening life event for me. I highly recommend it! Thank you Dr. Berkson.

excellent

loved it. the narrator was excellent
very interesting subjects and I would recommend it to all.

Need to know

Lectures were very insightful. The more you find out about Death and Dying, the more you release to live a fuller life.

Thought provoking

Going from avoiding thinking about death to actively contemplating the ideas about death present in this course is both surprising and educational.
I'm very glad I chose to explore the topic and had it presented in an insightful and absorbing manner.

Excellent and thought provoking

Bought this on a recommendation from someone and thoroughly enjoyed it. Very thought provoking.