Art and Philosophical Ideals
Author: Rasha KawarMay 13, 2021
The Death of Socrates1787Jacques Louis David Art has the ability to elevate us. In equal measure it can provoke, disturb, and challenge us. Art can do many things, but perhaps at its best it can connect us not only to each other, but also to something higher, a more perfect ideal beyond the realm of the material. There are many lenses with which we can view and attempt to understand a work of [...]
Facing Life, Beyond Life
Author: Sukesh MotwaniDecember 27, 2020
A short night wakes me from a dream that seemed so long. ~ Yayu (1783) The following piece is my humble investigation into my fear of death; the fear of my own (impending) death and also the fear of the eventual death of a loved one. This journey began 8 years ago with my mother’s sudden death. It has been insightful that while processing my grief some years down the line, [...]
Myths of Africa: Deepening our Understanding of Life and Death
Author: Siobhan FarrarOctober 1, 2020
Africa is a vast continent with many different peoples and a diverse diaspora whose cultural and spiritual heritage has often been misunderstood and misrepresented through colonial and Western perspectives. The ability to move past assumptions and conditioning always presents a challenge, which requires that we aim to see the essence of human life and experience. The philosopher seeks this [...]
Bill Viola / Michelangelo: Life, Death, Rebirth
Author: Miha KosirMay 26, 2019
What is life, what is death, is there a rebirth? These are the big questions arising with the first spark of self-awareness. But what are the answers? A recent exhibition at the Royal Academy of Arts entitled Bill Viola / Michelangelo: Life, Death, Rebirth displayed some of the finest drawings by versatile renaissance artist Michelangelo together with video installations of contemporary video [...]
The Book of the Dead
Author: Miha KosirMay 14, 2017
One thing we know for certain is that death is waiting for us all. Something so natural and irrefutable, but still how much do we understand what that really means? How we see death is how we understand life. Searching for those answers is a quest that has accompanied men and women since time immemorial. Most ancient traditions spoke of a journey in life, which would continue after the physical [...]
A New Philosophy of Life and Death
Author: Julian ScottApril 17, 2017
Life and death, like all opposites, are simply two sides of the same coin. As J.A. Livraga says in his book Thebes, in reality there is “only One Life, which glides along on its two feet, life and death.” Sometimes life is manifest, visible. At other times it is unmanifest, invisible. A tangible image of this in Nature is the tree. During summer it is full of leaves, flowers and fruits; in [...]
Reflection on Life and Death
Author: Natalia LemaJanuary 23, 2016
Life and death are two sides of the same coin. However, we spend most of our time dealing with life and rejecting or denying somehow the natural aspect of death, perhaps because we might see it as a final end. Death is commonly related to pain, suffering, loss and uncertainty. Ancient civilizations like that of Tibet had a different approach and were able to accept death naturally, almost [...]