Imaginations of Death and the Beyond in India and Europe

Nonfiction, Religion & Spirituality, Reference, Psychology of Religion, Social & Cultural Studies, Social Science, Anthropology
Cover of the book Imaginations of Death and the Beyond in India and Europe by , Springer Singapore
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: ISBN: 9789811067075
Publisher: Springer Singapore Publication: March 27, 2018
Imprint: Springer Language: English
Author:
ISBN: 9789811067075
Publisher: Springer Singapore
Publication: March 27, 2018
Imprint: Springer
Language: English

This volume explores current images of afterlife/afterdeath and the presence of the dead in the imaginations of the living in Indian and European traditions. Specifically, it focuses on the deepest and most fundamental uncertainty of human existence---the awareness of human mortality, on which depends any assignment of meaning to earthly existence as also to notions of worldly and otherworldly salvation. This central idea is addressed in the literature, arts, audiovisual media and other cultural artefacts of the two traditions. The chapters are based on two main assumptions: First, that one cannot report on the direct experience of death; so it is only possible to speak allegorically of it. Second, in contemporary Western societies, marked by structural atheism, people look at literature, the arts and mass media to study their depiction and reading of traditionally religious questions of disease, death and the Beyond. This is in contrast to Asian civilizations whose preoccupation with death and Beyond is persistent and perhaps central to the civilizations’ highest thought.

The chapters cover a wide spectrum of disciplinary approaches, from psychoanalysis to religious, anthropological, literary and film studies, from sociology and philosophy to art history, and address issues of unsettling power: comforting illusions of afterlife; the relations between afterlife and fertility; visions of technological immortalization of mankind; the problem of thinking about death after the “death of God”; socialist utopias of bodily immortality; fear of Hell and punishment; different concepts in relating the living and the dead; near-death experiences; and cultural practices of spiritualism, occultism and suicide.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

This volume explores current images of afterlife/afterdeath and the presence of the dead in the imaginations of the living in Indian and European traditions. Specifically, it focuses on the deepest and most fundamental uncertainty of human existence---the awareness of human mortality, on which depends any assignment of meaning to earthly existence as also to notions of worldly and otherworldly salvation. This central idea is addressed in the literature, arts, audiovisual media and other cultural artefacts of the two traditions. The chapters are based on two main assumptions: First, that one cannot report on the direct experience of death; so it is only possible to speak allegorically of it. Second, in contemporary Western societies, marked by structural atheism, people look at literature, the arts and mass media to study their depiction and reading of traditionally religious questions of disease, death and the Beyond. This is in contrast to Asian civilizations whose preoccupation with death and Beyond is persistent and perhaps central to the civilizations’ highest thought.

The chapters cover a wide spectrum of disciplinary approaches, from psychoanalysis to religious, anthropological, literary and film studies, from sociology and philosophy to art history, and address issues of unsettling power: comforting illusions of afterlife; the relations between afterlife and fertility; visions of technological immortalization of mankind; the problem of thinking about death after the “death of God”; socialist utopias of bodily immortality; fear of Hell and punishment; different concepts in relating the living and the dead; near-death experiences; and cultural practices of spiritualism, occultism and suicide.

More books from Springer Singapore

Cover of the book Six Decades of Indonesia-China Relations by
Cover of the book Genre Changes and Privileged Pedagogic Identity in Teaching Contest Discourse by
Cover of the book Applied Sciences in Graphic Communication and Packaging by
Cover of the book Graphene-based Composites for Electrochemical Energy Storage by
Cover of the book Fiber Solar Cells by
Cover of the book Governance and Risk Management in Taxation by
Cover of the book Urban Morphology and Housing Market by
Cover of the book 9th International Conference on Robotic, Vision, Signal Processing and Power Applications by
Cover of the book Collaboration Technologies and Social Computing by
Cover of the book Development under Dualism and Digital Divide in Twenty-First Century India by
Cover of the book Dinosaurs, Birds, and Pterosaurs of Korea by
Cover of the book Role of Transcription Factors in Gastrointestinal Malignancies by
Cover of the book Under-three Year Olds in Policy and Practice by
Cover of the book Audio Processing and Speech Recognition by
Cover of the book Near-Net Shape Manufacturing of Miniature Spur Gears by Wire Spark Erosion Machining by
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy