Everything about death and dying you want to know

I am surprised at how much there is to say about death and dying. Mark Berkson, Professor and Chair in the Religion Department at Hamline University (USA), brings together a thesaurus of facts from vastly different disciplines addressing the issue of death in 24 half hour lectures.

He begins the course by asking what death is. Quickly the listener becomes aware that death is not such an easy concept to define. Using insights from the medical sciences Prof. Berkson challenges traditional views.

After defining death, the listener is challenged with his/ her own fear of death and how one copes with grief. Hereafter he/ she is introduced to various rituals surrounding the death of a loved one in different cultures, creating a sensitivity and understanding for other peoples' beliefs.

The beliefs surrounding death and the afterlife from the stance of various religions, gets quite a lot of attention. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Daoism and Syncretistic beliefs are all discussed.

Issues like dying well and what it means, suicide, euthanasia, killing during war, killing of non-human animals, near death experiences and the pursuit of immortality also comes under the spyglass.

I think that the benefits the listener by making listeners sensitive about death and the various world cultures' beliefs. Though it is presented from a American perspective (the USA's death rituals gets precedence), the vastness of Prof. Berkson's knowledge surrounding the subject is truly astonishing. I was really impressed with the way he approached his subject matter, showing the same respect for the listener as one would expect to be shown to the dead. There is however one thing I think needs to be added when the course is revised - the African funeral. Living in South Africa, as a minister, I have buried people from different cultural backgrounds. I have been amazed at how the beliefs surrounding death and the dying differs within the Christian Faith within this country. One of these beliefs has to do with when to bury a person. In the Northern part of the country, you will bury at 6:00, while a Zulu from KwaZulu-Natal may not be buried before 12:00. Even the content of what should go in the grave differs. Many of these rituals are syncretised with Christian beliefs and practises. For the course to be perfect, I would have liked some of these issues to have been included. That said, I am not sure where one would stop when compiling a course such as this if everyone's whims have to be included.

This course can be followed without the course guide. However, the neat guide not only refreshes the mind. I think it can stimulate further discussion.

I recommend this course to anyone interested in a sincere empathetic in-your-face approach to dealing with one of the most important realities in life, death. While I suspect that Prof. Berkson himself leans to a Buddhist approach to death, he is fair to all religions and does not try to push his own understanding of death on his listeners. He gives you the room to decide how you would like to approach it. It comes highly recommended! The only type of death that you might not encounter in this course, is Terry Pratchett's character, Death...

64 people found this helpful

Dispassionate discussion, well researched

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Death is generally not discussed dispassionately when humans interact. These lectures provide one the opportunity to look at death objectively and from almost as many points of view as there are belief systems. I would absolutely recommend it to one of my more open-minded friends.

What about Professor Mark Berkson’s performance did you like?

Professor Mark Berkson speaks clearly. His voice has a good timbre and is pleasant to listen to. He pauses after his sentences so there is time to absorb what he has said without the listener having to backtrack.

What’s the most interesting tidbit you’ve picked up from this book?

Death and how we see it is such an integral part of life. While one knows this, it particularly stands out in the lecture on Tibetan Buddhists who see our lives as a series of "in-betweens", or bardos and say that life, too, is a bardo, existing between birth and death. At the other end of the spectrum is the lecture on suicide (not euthanasia or assisted suicide), a form of death that raises such bewilderment among those left behind. Prof Berkson raises the moral issue: Do we have the right to end our own life? Should we intervene to prevent someone from killing themselves? As with the other lectures, he dips into philosophy, mythology and modern psychology to present a myriad of views.

Any additional comments?

Having listened through to the end, I immediately started the course again. There is so much to absorb because it is packed with interesting information which has been well researched and carefully edited so that there is not one tedious moment.

44 people found this helpful

Profound

Few people talk about death even though we all know it's inevitable. This course dives into the void by explaining practices, beliefs and ethics related to death and the afterlife. A necessary read.

12 people found this helpful

Reviewing this before I'm even finished!

Any additional comments?

This is FANTASTIC in every way! The narrator is like a teacher, and reads the text gently and soothingly. The book itself is packed with thought-provoking ideas and really makes you see death from a neutral perspective as well as from a specific one. I can't say how much I enjoy this. I already know it will be a book I listen to again and again.

10 people found this helpful

Very good insights despite some biases

This book provides a fairly widespread survey of all the different religious and cultural views on death and dying. However, Berkson's devotes the most time to Eastern views and doesn't devote but one lecture to Jewish, Christian and Islamic perspectives (one lecture each). While I don't how extensive Jewish and Islamic view are, I know that his coverage of Christian views is quite lacking.

Berkson also tries to cover other issues of death and dying (e.g., war, capital punishment, suicide, euthanasia, and even a whole lecture on killing of animals). It is in these lectures that his liberal biases are revealed. Although he tries to provide arguments on both sides, he falls short in most of these except the issue of war which he leaves the door somewhat open). He basically argues that whenever in doubt (or with other options), one should always give greater preference to saving life. Yet, he says nothing about abortion. Great oversight! One wonders if he would prefer life in this case. Would he give preference to animals over unborn babies (and with equal passion)?

So, while I have several things I really didn't like about these lectures, Berkson does make many good insights on this subject and is not nearly as biased as many progressives would be on this subject. At least he does make a good effort to present all views on this subject as unbiased as he can.

6 people found this helpful

phenomenal class!

I really enjoyed this class. it is comprehensive, not intimidating, and uplifting. I've used it to help prepare myself to earn a certificate in thanatology.

5 people found this helpful

Starts off strong, ends up weak

The strength of this course is Dr. Berkson talking about how various religions view dying, death, and the afterlife, and in some cases how that's changed over the years. This takes it through lecture 16, which is probably when he should have stopped.

Unfortunately, the course keeps going, and it gets weaker. There's a lecture on suicide, and I was expecting to hear about the history of suicide as part of culture or religion - think seppuku. Instead it boils down to a "choose life" sermon, which may be valuable for someone contemplating suicide, but not very valuable as a course. Similarly the capital punishment lecture starts off as a history but becomes a soapbox for Dr. Berkson's opinions. The next lecture would have been on the killing of animals, and I fear another sermon.

8 people found this helpful

Thoughtful and thought provoking.

these lectures are well thought out and provide balanced representations of all viewpoints. While the lecturer does offer his own opinion, he does not force it upon you, and leaves much of the material up for interpretation.

3 people found this helpful

A stellar work

Dr. Berkson has compiled an incredible amount of information and sifted it to retain the most meaningful. If you're struggling with the reality that you or someone you love is eventually going to die, or you have a fascination with the afterlife, or simply a preoccupation with the morbid, this course will allow you to reflect on your questions from every angle. He plays things incredibly even-handedly, discussing every religion and culture with respect. Even tribal cannibals get a fair hearing. But, he is also really good at playing philosophies off of each other to reveal the difficult questions or possible flaws in logic they bring out in one another. This book is full of amazing fables, anecdotes and quotes from literature and history. The questions the course raises may be disturbing or comforting to you, or more likely both by turns, but it's sure to spark emotion in you somewhere. I couldn't recommend it more.

2 people found this helpful

Best Audible Book Ever!

Great lecture on the concept of death. Really meaningful explanation of different cultural, religious, conceptual thoughts on the matter.

2 people found this helpful