The Role of Death in Life: A Multidisciplinary Examination of the Relationship between Life and Death

"The relation between life and death is a subject of perennial relevance for all human beings, and indeed, the entire universe, in as much as, according to the saying of ancient Greek philosophy, all things that come into being pass away. Yet it is also a topic of increasing complexity, for cutting-edge research suggests life and death are appear to be more intertwined than previously or commonly thought. Moreover, the relation between life and death is also one of increasing urgency, as through the twin phenomena of an increase in longevity unprecedented in human history and the rendering of death, dying, and the dead person all but invisible, people living in the industrialised and post-industrialised Western world of today have lost touch with the reality of death. This radically new situation, and predicament, has implications - medical, ethical, economic, philosophical, and, not least, theological - that have barely begun to be addressed. John Behr is the Dean of St Vladimir’s Orthodox Theological Seminary. He has published numerous monographs, most recently an edition and translation of the fragments of Diodore of Tarsus and Theodore of Mopsuestia, and a monograph on Irenaeus. Conor Cunningham, Associate Professor of Theology and Philosophy at the University of Nottingham, serves as co-director of the Centre of Theology and Philosophy. He is the author of the award-winning "Darwin’s Pious Idea: Why the Ultra-Darwinists and Creationists Both Get It Wrong" 2010. "For once, it is not a polite exaggeration to say this is a ‘unique’ book. The breadth of disciplines represented and the originality of the analysis offered make it an exceptional contribution to current debates. Anyone who thinks the dialogue between theology and the natural sciences is, at best, an exchange of uncomprehending platitudes, will have to think again in the face of these expert, challenging essays, which show that an orthodox theology of our embodied condition can be culturally transformative." Rowan Williams, former Archbishop of Canterbury, and Master of Magdalene College, University of Cambridge. "In this book, the mutual implication of death and life is demonstrated from an astronomical level, in the emergence of human life from the death of stars, to the molecular level where death enables the emergence of cellular life, through anthropological, philosophical, and theological insights, to the realm of medical care for the dying, where it is claimed that ‘only theology can save medicine’. A profound and challenging book." Andrew Louth, Professor Emeritus of Patristic and Byzantine Studies, Durham University."

Publisher -

Language - English

Paperback

Contributors

Author

John Behr

Edited by

John Behr

Conor Cunningham

John Behr

Conor Cunningham

John Behr

Conor Cunningham

John Behr

Conor Cunningham

John Behr

Conor Cunningham

John Behr

Conor Cunningham

John Behr

Conor Cunningham

John Behr

Conor Cunningham

Published Date -

ISBN - 9780227175729

Dimensions - 22.9 x 15.2 x 1.1 cm

Page Count - 203