Grief is a natural emotion that is out of our control and while all animals feel and experience the feeling, it has the ability to affect humans deeply. Robert Solomon (‘Solomon’) convincingly argues that grieving is a natural obligation as it honours relationships and acknowledges the value of the people who have died. In contrast, Seneca and the Stoics argue that minimal grieving is essential to maintain rational tranquillity as excessive grief is seen as irrational and counterproductive. Additionally, Cicero’s balanced view on grief will be explored to gain a deeper insight into the natural duty to grieve. Solomon’s argument will be endorsed in this essay as it highlights the moral significance of grieving and affirms the value of relationships …show more content…
“It is to this opinion that we owe all those various and horrid kinds of lamentation, that neglect of our persons, that womanish tearing of our cheeks” (Cicero 1877:’section 26’) suggests that these expectations force people to follow specific grieving behaviours and practices. Alternatively, Cicero argues that our grief should be influenced by rationality rather than emotions. He argues that although it is normal to experience sadness and distress following the death of a loved one, external influences should not determine the depth and duration of grief. “Therefore it is in our own power to lay aside grief upon occasion” (Cicero 1877:’section 29’) as people should analyse their grief from a logical standpoint, acknowledging the detrimental effects of excessive grieving on both themselves and others. Cicero’s ideals on grieving are similar to that they deny that grief as a moral obligation, as well as advocating for moderation and reasoning in grief. In their discussions on the nature and handling of grief, Seneca and Cicero offer valuable insights, but I personally find Solomon’s viewpoint to be the most convincing and practical approach to coping with grief. Solomon’s claim that grief is a moral responsibility deeply connected to our existence aligns closely to what I have experienced in my life. Viewing grief as an expression of love emphasises the deep bonds that we have with others and recognises the irreplaceable influence they have on our lives. “It is, ultimately, an idealisation of the love that mortal creatures feel for one another, as if that love.possesses the immortal power or infallibility we lack” (McCracken 2005:154). When we experience loss, we are recognising the depth and importance of our affection, and this adoration for our loved ones can seem everlasting
Sylvia Grider. “Public Grief and the Politics of Memorial.” Anthropology Today (London), June 2007, 3-7. Print.
The article "“Whoever We Are, Loss Finds us and Defines Us”, by Anna Quindlen, invokes the necessary emotions needed to understand an agree with the notions stated about death and grief. Yes, Anna Quindlen succeeded in proving her position by her use of emotion, credibility as an accomplished writer, experiences with death and grief and her writing style. Some people live with grief for the rest of their lives, such as Anna Quindlen and some of her examples, while others can overcome the fight. Effectively using all three elements in this article, Quindlen started her engine, shifted this article into gear and ultimately won the race.
together in sympathetic union, to share a common grief” (William Alden Smith). In the days
Pro Caelio is a speech given by Roman politician and famed orator Marcus Tullius Cicero in defense of his former student and now political rival Caelius. Caelius was charged with political violence in the form of the murder of Dio. Caelius’ defense was structured so that Caelius first spoke in his own defense, following him was Crassus, and finally Cicero. Cicero attempted in his defense to not just refute the accusations brought forward by the prosecutors. Instead, he first demonstrates that Caelius is an upstanding citizen and provides many examples to prove this. He further defends Caelius by swaying the jury in his favor through the employment of comedy. Vice versa he turns the jury against the prosecutors through slander (i.e. he constantly
Claudius opens with a concession “Our dear brother’s death/the memory be green, and that it us befitted/To bear our hearts in grief”, indicating to his audience that he empathized with their feelings of pain. However, two lines later, Claudius declares “discretion fought with nature/That we with wisest sorrow think on him/Together with remembrance of ourselves.” Here Claudius introduces the idea that spending time grieving, “nature”, is at odds with practicality, “discretion”, and that for the citizen to become too absorbed in mourning would be to neglect their own well being.
First of all Epictetus argues that we shall not grieve over death because death is something we cannot control. If death is not something we control, then why do we implement services that honor the dead that are going to activate our uncontrollable emotions? We struggle with accommodating death because of the attention that death receives. Grieving is a natural emotion, the more the person is reminded of something the more emotional they will become. The more significant the loss the lengthier the grieving process lasts. Epictetus believes that our feelings are expressions of what seems right to us based upon our opinions and values. If we reevaluate our judgments or beliefs, then our feelings will be corrected as well. If we cannot control
When death has taken someone from your life, you think of everything you said to them, your last words, memories, and the talks that happened. During this assignment, one will see the grieving process from me about a tenant that I took care of, and the impact this lady’s passing away, left me. Polan and Taylor (2015) says “Loss challenges the person’s priorities and importance of relationships.” (pg 226) When an individual loses someone that you see everyday and take care of, this effects you because, you build a relationship and get to know each other on a personal level. When my tenant was passing away it was painful. I didn’t know what to feel when I seen what was happening and knew what was taking place.
As we regained consciousness one by one, we found ourselves on a deserted island. After gathering all the food and supplies we could find, it was decided that certain rules should be enacted so we may live together civilly. We need to maintain our politeness and courtesy as we do not know how long we may be stranded on the island. To preserve what we have left, the first rule that should be enacted must benefit the group as a whole. The rule to have every able bodied individual work to benefit the group. That means that a person must work at gather food, water, build shelter, and any other tasks that are required. This should be the most important rule as it will maintain order and will provide justice in our group.
Imagine that the person you love most in the world dies. How would you cope with the loss? Death and grieving is an agonizing and inevitable part of life. No one is immune from death’s insidious and frigid grip. Individuals vary in their emotional reactions to loss. There is no right or wrong way to grieve (Huffman, 2012, p.183), it is a melancholy ordeal, but a necessary one (Johnson, 2007). In the following: the five stages of grief, the symptoms of grief, coping with grief, and unusual customs of mourning with particular emphasis on mourning at its most extravagant, during the Victorian era, will all be discussed in this essay (Smith, 2014).
Individually, everyone has their own methods of dealing with situations and emotions regardless of any positive or negative connotation affixed to them. One prime example of this comes with grief. Elisabeth Kubler-Ross in her 1969 book “On Death and Dying” suggests that there are five stages of mourning and grief that are universal and, at one point or another, experienced by people from all walks of life. These stages, in no particular order, are as follows: Denial and Isolation, Anger, Bargaining, Depression, and finally Acceptance. Each individual person works through these stages in different orders for varying levels of time and intensity, but most if not all are necessary to “move on.” In order for positive change to occur following a loss, one must come to terms with not only the event but also themselves.
"’Tis not alone my inky cloak, good mother, / nor customary suits of solemn black / [ . . . ] but I have that within which passeth show; / these but the trappings and the suits of woe” (Shakespeare 1.2.76-73, 85-86) says Hamlet when confronted about his way of grieving over his father’s recent death. Shakespeare’s play Hamlet is a remarkable tale that is centered on the idea of death and grief. While death is a universal occurrence, meaning every person will deal with it, how we grieve after a loss is completely individual. To look at a formula of grief, most turn to the five stages of grief developed by Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, a psychiatrist, who studied the topic in her book On Death and Dying. This model consists of denial, anger, sadness, bargaining, and acceptance, although the duration and order of the stages are different for every person. In Shakespeare’s play Hamlet the stages of grief are evident in his sadness, anger, and finally acceptance.
Cicero, was truly a man of the state. His writings also show us he was equally a man of
Everyone has or will experience a loss of a loved one sometime in their lives. It is all a part of the cycle of life and death. The ways each person copes with this loss may differ, but according to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross’s novel On Death and Dying, a person experiences several stages of grief: denial, anger, bargaining, depression, and, finally, acceptance. There is no set time for a person to go through each stage because everyone experiences and copes with grief differently. However, everyone goes through the same general feelings of grief and loss. There are also sections in Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet” that connect to the process of grieving: “On Pain,” “On Joy and Sorrow,” and “On Talking.” Kahlil Gibran’s “The Prophet” reflects on Kübler-Ross’s model of the different stages of grief and loss.
It is common for those experiencing grief to deny the death altogether. Many people do this by avoiding situations and places that remind them of the deceased (Leming & Dickinson, 2016). However, by simply avoiding the topic of death and pain, the mourner only achieves temporary relief while in turn creating more permanent lasting agony (Rich, 2005). In this stage, mourners will begin to feel the full weight of the circumstance. Whether the death of a loved one was sudden or long-term, survivors will feel a full range of emotions, such as sadness, guilt, anger, frustration, hopelessness, or grief. While many of these emotions can cause serious suffering, it is important for the survivor to feel whatever emotions come up and deal with those feelings, rather than trying to suppress any
Relevance of The Constitution In September 1787, the founding fathers signed the initial draft of the Constitution to create a document that would serve as a foundation for our country and government. According to Article VI, Clause 2 of the United States of America. “The Constitution is the supreme law of the land” (National Archives). This quote simplifies the main purpose of the Constitution by describing how it is essentially a rulebook for every person who resides in the United States. Without the Constitution, our branches of government and the processes that create new laws would be unregulated.