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FOREWORD
Ithasbecomecustomarytosaybeingahumanmeansbeingaphi-
losopher.Philosophicalissuesconcerneveryman,andphilosophizing
isanactivitythatispartoflivingaresponsiblelife.Thereisanumber
ofsourcesforphilosophizing,includingthesocalledboundaryexpe-
riences,thatissufferinganddeath.Differentthemesmaybedistin-
guishedintheirstudy:popular,scientific,philosophical,religious,
theologicalones.Allconceptsofhumandeathareimpliedbyapar-
ticularconceptofhumannature,theanswergiventothequestion
aboutwhomanis.Andtheanswersaremany.
Whenmanthinksandtalksaboutdeath,itisalwaysfromsome
kindofunderstandingofhimself,hisownlife,concernabouthisfu-
ture.Contemporaryapproachtothephenomenonofdeathislargely
shapedbythemedia.Theypromoteyouth,physicalfitness,personal
andprofessionalsuccess,a“lightandmerry”lifestylewithoutany
majorproblemsoftheexistentialkind.Doingthat,theyoftenexploit
themostbasehumaninstincts,employingsophisticatedtechniquesof
manipulation.Ontheotherhand,whenthemediashowdeath,itisnot
initsnatural,butinitsbrutalandviolentform,depictingitinadrastic
andnaturalistway.Deathisthenacommodity,abriefflashonthe
screen,“itisstrange”.Thefalsepictureofdeathwhichdisruptsthe
idyllicvisionofhumanexistenceisaconsequenceofadisruptedpic-
tureoflifepromotedbythemassmediaandreinforcedbythepractice
ofeverydaylife.
Deathhowever,isaneventwhich,contrarytoappearances,does
notdisintegratethehumancommunity.Theritualsthataccompanyit
differfromplacetoplace,butallserveonepurpose:theyannounce
thedepartureofamemberofthecommunity,makingitclearlyrealize
thatatransformationhastakenplaceandthatitmustbedealtwithus-
ingsuchmeansasmourning,theceremonyofburialorcremation,and