jjares reviewed The Great Courses: Death, Dying, and the Afterlife: Lessons from World Cultures on + 3270 more book reviews
These 24 lectures, offered by author and Professor Mark Berkson, take a look at death and dying through the prism of different cultures, religions, and ages. Professor Berkson highlights the opinions of Buddha, Elizabeth Kubler-Ross, popular movies, Aristotle, and many others. The idea is to give a well-rounded view of how man has changed in his view of death and dying -- and why it matters. Berkson's thesis is that we live best when we live while planning a 'good death.'
The lessons Professor Berkson shares with his listeners/readers encompass anthropology, biology, literature, philosophy, psychology, sociology, theology, and other fields, trying to show how man has struggled in his understanding of death and the afterlife.
According to this authority, most modern Chinese believe a person has at least two souls. They also have no conflict with having Christian, Buddhist, and pagan/folk beliefs at the same time, that meld into each other seamlessly (Lesson 16).
Next, the Professor explored other types of death, namely suicide, euthanasia, and killing during war. Then he went into two subjects that I thought were extraneous to the subject: capital punishment and killing animals (for food, or whatever). Berkson really rode his hobby horse on these two subjects.
Then Berkson returned to things I thought had to "Death, Dying, and the Afterlife," namely near-death experiences and the pursuit of immortality. These lectures were enlightening.
I've listened to more than a dozen lengthy Great Courses programs. In none of those did I find the professor go off on a tangent as this man did. I was really disappointed. Overall score: G+
The lessons Professor Berkson shares with his listeners/readers encompass anthropology, biology, literature, philosophy, psychology, sociology, theology, and other fields, trying to show how man has struggled in his understanding of death and the afterlife.
According to this authority, most modern Chinese believe a person has at least two souls. They also have no conflict with having Christian, Buddhist, and pagan/folk beliefs at the same time, that meld into each other seamlessly (Lesson 16).
Next, the Professor explored other types of death, namely suicide, euthanasia, and killing during war. Then he went into two subjects that I thought were extraneous to the subject: capital punishment and killing animals (for food, or whatever). Berkson really rode his hobby horse on these two subjects.
Then Berkson returned to things I thought had to "Death, Dying, and the Afterlife," namely near-death experiences and the pursuit of immortality. These lectures were enlightening.
I've listened to more than a dozen lengthy Great Courses programs. In none of those did I find the professor go off on a tangent as this man did. I was really disappointed. Overall score: G+
