Death

Changing the National Conversation Around Death

Symposium explores how we approach dying so we can live richer lives.

BU Today

Want to Live Longer? Consider the Ethics

Several companies are trying to develop life extension methods that could enable some people to live far longer. There are some ethical dilemmas.

The Conversation

Quest for a Peaceful Death

A cancer doctor studies the connection between spirituality and end-of-life care.

Discover

Is Death Still Frightening If You Believe the Self Is an Illusion? An Astonishing Study of Tibetan Buddhists

A central tenet of the religion is that all is impermanent and the self is actually an illusion. If there is no self, then why fear the end of the self?

British Psychological Society Research Digest

The Big Sleep and Beyond: What’s Behind Our Fascination With the Afterlife

What happens after we die has been a core aspect of many religions, and a subject of imagination for many practitioners of the arts.

AirTalk

Who First Buried the Dead?

Evidence of burial rites by the primitive, small-brained Homo naledi suggests that symbolic behavior is very ancient indeed.

Aeon

What Can We Learn From Near-Death Experiences?

Benjamin Mitchell-Yellin studied people’s stories of near-death experiences. He discusses what these people and experiences had in common and what can be learned from them.

Houston Matters

After Death, You’re Aware That You’ve Died, Say Scientists

Some evidence attributes a certain neurological phenomenon to a near death experience.

Big Think

What Are the Ethical Consequences of Immortality Technology?

If we treat death as a problem, what are the ethical implications of the highly speculative ‘solutions’ being mooted?

Aeon

Emotions Expressed by the Dying Are Unexpectedly Positive

“When we imagine our emotions as we approach death, we think mostly of sadness and terror,” says psychological scientist Kurt Gray of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. “But it turns out, dying is less sad and terrifying — and happier — than you think.”

Association for Psychological Science

How to Find Meaning in the Face of Death

The time between diagnosis and death presents an opportunity for “extraordinary growth.”

The Atlantic

Connecting Body and Soul

A Harvard initiative studies how spirituality affects patients’ experience at the end of life.

Harvard Magazine