Intro: Understanding Death Flashcards
Define memento mori
“be vigilant you know not the hour that the lord arrive.” An aspect of momento mori is tied to the centrality of death but it also about how death is interpreted through a religious lens. People in the past dealt with death intimately and on a near daily basis
Define thanatology
literally the “study of death”. Exploration of the physical, psychological, cultural, and social issues surrounding the experience of death.
Define iron crutch li
Chinese example: Old iron crutch Li (li tieguai). Through his spiritual exercises he was able to travel up to heaven and interact with the deities, his spirit left his body so his body was “dead” while he was gone. He had an assistant to watch over his body and make sure nothing happened to his body while he was gone (he said he would be back in 7 days). The assistant burned his body on the 6th day cause he wanted to go see his mom, but Li was on his way back and decided to embody an old iron crutch
define taphaphobia
The fear of being buried alive. Safety coffins were created because people in the past did not know fully whether they were dead or alive due to lack of knowledge around time of death
define “brain death”
if you can confirm that the brain is no longer active (life giving functions are no longer being administered by the brain-hear to pump blood, lungs to breathe)
define phenomenology
The phenomenology of religion concerns the experiential aspect of religion, describing religious phenomena in terms consistent with the orientation of worshippers
define epoché
(bracketing) we bracket out whether it was a true experience- we can talk about Christianity, Islam etc. without making any comment on the truth value of their doctrinal claims
define cosmology
The cosmos, the science and origin of the universe
define soteriology
is the theory of salvation (e.g., Christ as savior/redeemer)
Define discourse community
a group of people that share common rhetorical goals, have a shared vocabulary, mediums for communication, criteria for knowing whether someone else is part of that community with them
Explain the Buddhist parable of the mustard seed
She was called skinny gotami and was the daughter of a poor family. She gives birth to a son, gains respect but her son dies while playing. She is afraid they are going to take the corpse of her son. Assumptions about where women derive their worth and value in this culture, people scorned her until she had a son. A man approached her offering “medicine”. He told her to enter a house that hadn’t experienced death and take from them a mustard seed.
She achieved nirvana, and will never again be reborn to face the suffering
The assumption here is that people live multiple lives (reincarnation). She “flow[ed] on for a hundred thousand ages”
What are the characterisitcs of a religious ritual?
Embedded in a cultural system
Performed (ritual is its own work, not productive work)
Formalistic and rules governed (follows a set pattern and rules are known by the participants)
Traditionalistic/invariant (doesn’t mean it cant change but it gives the impression of not changing)
Explain van Gennep’s rite of passage
- Separation (those involved in the ritual are taken out of their everyday social existence and in the case of a marriage bride and groom are expected not to engage with each other)
- Liminality (the boundary between two things, often through ritual dress, language or procedures. Its emphasizing their role in the ritual)
- Reintegration (reintegrated with special signs of having completed the ritual- e.g., wedding rings. Includes a change in social states, they are understood differently by their peers)
Consider different definitions of “death” (and the significance thereof)
Traditional view (cessation of breath), Chinese example (iron crutch Li), Euro american example (taphophobia), Brain death, etc.
Veatch’s proposed four possibilities:
1. Irreversible loss of the flow of vital fluids
2. Irreversible loss of soul
3. Irreversible loss of brain functions (including self regulation)
4. Loss of capacity for social function due to the irreversible loss of higher brain functions
Consider issues with the comparative study of religion
- Interdisciplinary, The comparative project
- Religious studies does not equal theology
- Phenomenology of religion (Epoché- bracketing)
