“[C]remation is an inadequate way of disposing of the dead because it entails the destruction of community memory, and, by extension, community and individual identity. It deprives the living of these benefits, while also treating the dead in ways which goes against common intuitions about personhood, anthropology and respect for the will of the deceased….
Death & Dignity: Meet the Perps
In the previous segments of this series I presented the foundations for my assessment of some of the fallacious and misleading information that is being more frequently and increasingly presented on the Internet, particularly on various social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and many others. The target public, already drowning in information…
Death & Dignity: Final Words, Conclusions, Recommendations
In this series of articles, the reader has learned about personhood; the history of the principle of dignity, and how it is understood in our history and today; the law and jurisprudence relating to the human corpse and dignity; when the term ‘dignity’ should not be used and more appropriate terms substituted. Finally, I presented…
Death & Dignity: Part VI – Dignity, Moral Violation, & Violence
When an individual steps into the public arena, whether it’s as a politician, a spokesperson, a professional service provider or a presenter or speaker, particularly if he claims some sort of expertise or has the endorsement or sponsorship of an authority, the receiving public is entitled to be critical and exacting regarding the quality of…
Solidified Cremation Remains (Cremains): The Hoax & the Facts
Recent marketing promotions appearing on social media by entrepreneurs attempting to monetize grief and mourning have gotten my attention, and I will set the record straight on the subject of solidified remains. What I will discuss in my upcoming article on solidified cremation remains (a.k.a. cremains) will expose the lies, the gimmicks, and the damage…
Death & Dignity: Part V – The Lexicon of Dignity, Respect, and Reverence of the Dead
Referring to my previous discussion of Kantian dignity, we can say that treating the dead with dignity gives rise to an inner feeling of doing what is morally good; the dead no longer have dignity, although they possessed inherent dignity while alive, but because the dead can no longer reason or act autonomously, and because…
Dignity & Death: Part IV – Legal Person & Personhood and the Dead
It has been suggested that the corpse owns itself, since it was once a person endowed with the self-determination and dignity (autonomy). At some point in the history of this question, a rather macabre compromise was reached: as the body decomposes ownership becomes less of self-ownership and is settled in favor of other parties. This…
Death & Dignity: Part III – Personhood and Human Remains; Dignity of the Dead?
When discussing whether to grant the moral criterion of dignity to dead humans one is faced with a difficult philosophical and ethical question, one that requires a prior determining whether a dead human body is even to be considered a dead human ‘being,” which, even though dead, remains a relic of the once living human…
Dignity & Death. Part II A very brief primer on dignity.
In this multi-part article, I will examine fundamental principles, particularly the principle of dignity — all too frequently misreferenced in deathcare discussions —, inherent in deathcare and explains some of the the common understandings and misunderstandings associated with them. Vayam Amritasya Putrah”वयम् अमृतस्य पुत्राः“𝓦𝓮 𝓪𝓻𝓮 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓬𝓱𝓲𝓵𝓭𝓻𝓮𝓷 𝓸𝓯 𝓽𝓱𝓮 𝓐𝓵𝓶𝓲𝓰𝓱𝓽𝔂 𝓓𝓲𝓿𝓲𝓷𝓮”Shvetashvar Upanishad Fruitful debate cannot…
Death & Dignity. Part One – What is personhood, a person?
An initial apology is in order. I realize that many of my readers have not studied psychology, philosophy, theology, metaphysics, or ethics but that does not relieve us of the duty and responsibility to those whom we serve to recognize their personhood and humanity. Some of what I am writing may seem abstruse or esoteric…
Do the Dead Have Dignity? Should we let go of “dignified?”
Prepublication Notice On April 10, 2023, a multi-part article “Death and Dignity” will be published in six installments. The article was originally conceived as a training discussion document for celebrant training but in view of recent shorts and podcasts relating to deathcare, particularly dignity, I have decided that the article should be made public as…
Love All, Serve All, and Do All Selflessly
There is a disturbing trend in the funeral services professions that threatens to undermine the most sacred rites of passage and transition human beings ever experience, and its aftermath is likely to be worse than we ever could have imagined. This trend is incarnate in amateurs and dilettantes foisting their services as funeral and memorial…
Thanatology Café 