Week 8 Lecture

Question 1

What is Irreversibility?

Answer 1

Death is final and permanent

Question 1

What is universality?

Answer 1

Death is universal; all living things die; death is unpredictable, inevitable

Question 2

What is Non-functionality?

Answer 2

Death causes the body to cease to function

Question 3

What is causality?

Answer 3

Understanding that something has to precipitate death

(accident, illness, injury)

Question 4

What is non-corporeal continuation?

Answer 4

Connection to the deceased continues after death

Question 5

What is magical thinking?

Answer 5

Belief that your thoughts/behavior can influence reality

Can lead to feelings of guilt, responsibility for events out of their control

Question 6

How do children (birth - 2 years) perceive death?

Answer 6

Feelings of pain, anger, sadness due to separation from people they’re attached too

Question 7

How do children (3 - 5 years) perceive death?

Answer 7

‘Magical thinking’

Death not understood as final, universal, irreversible

Question 8

How do children (5 - 10 years) perceive death?

Answer 8

• Greater understanding of biological
• universal reality of death (death of pets, relatives are instructive)

Question 9

How do children (10 - 16 years) perceive death?

Answer 9

• Awareness of biological reality of death
• understanding of symbolic, cultural meanings attached to death and dying (non corporeal continuation)

Question 10

What was the book “The Private Worlds of Dying Children” about?

Answer 10

• Studied children, aged 3-9 and their experiences of dying of leukemia
• Though parents, doctors attempted to shield children from their terminal diagnosis, children were aware, sought to hide their awareness from their parents