Story of mourning
From ape to modern man
Management of death
Death or death for you or bright: because you are ; death because you 're older. Montaigne
do not you know that the source of all the miseries of man, it is not death, but the fear of death? Epictetus
According to Darwin, humanity comes from the animal world. We initially were primates in the state of nature ( on mecaniqueuniverselle, I call them "natural primates," to distinguish them from "cultural primates " that we have become ). We now live in a world builders men of culture.
Between natural time and humanity today, many things have changed. Our relationship to death is an example.
False carelessness of our cousins
The appearance of the funeral rites is obviously a step in the evolution of consciousness toward death. But how to behave other primates before their dead, also shows a strong awareness. Awareness of death, therefore, is not a human specificity *.
* neither was the culture that follows.
A gradual taming
We know very little about the mental privacy of other primates. We have not yet deciphered their language to understand their feelings. To my mind, one day mankind will establish the communication. She will know a little more about the real state of mind of our cousins in nature. So we share with other primates, probably the same metaphysical source. But years of crops have gradually changed the course. Humankind gradually evolved over his finitude. She has discovered throughout its history, strange ways to tame his death.
From Socrates to Zen monk
Some great scouts for example, are able to shorten their lives and so fully conscious. They may prefer death to existing Iour defend the values of the city as it was the case of Socrates. Other individuals have spent their lives searching for us, the way of deliverance. Sages, yogis, monks, hermits, worked on ways to get rid of death. Great spiritual belonging to all religions have discovered and experienced technical sublime. Experiences that we have not extracted the juice.
" The forward march of the human race"
We believe, therefore, the relationship of man to death progresses in the human phenomenon. This progress to a route. he walks on the road from unconsciousness to mindfulness... The panic instinct, to absolute grief and accomplished. We try in this portion of the chapter On the evolution of a dress kind of schematic and simplistic genealogy.
2001
Vers dorés
Homme ! libre penseur - te crois-tu seul pensant
Dans ce monde où la vie éclate en toute chose :
Des forces que tu tiens ta liberté dispose,
Mais de tous tes conseils l'Univers est absent.
Respecte dans la bête un esprit agissant...
Chaque fleur est une âme à la Nature éclose ;
Un mystère d'amour dans le métal repose :
Tout est sensible ; - et tout sur ton être est puissant !
Crains dans le mur aveugle un regard qui t'épie :
A la matière même un verbe est attaché...
Ne la fais point servir à quelque usage impie.
Souvent, dans l'être obscur habite un Dieu caché ;
Et, comme un œil naissant couvert par ses paupières
Un pur esprit s'accroît sous l'écorce des pierres.
GERARD de NERVAL
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