ABSTRACT

The Nature of Grief is a provocative new study on the evolution of grief. Most literature on the topic regards grief either as a psychiatric disorder or illness to be cured. In contrast to this, John Archer shows that grief is a natural reaction to losses of many sorts, even to the death of a pet, and he proves this by bringing together material from evolutionary psychology, ethology and experimental psychology.
This innovative new work will be required reading for developmental and clinical psychologists and all those in the caring professions.

chapter 1|10 pages

Introduction: what is grief?

chapter 3|18 pages

Accounts of grief from other sources

chapter 4|20 pages

The biological context of grief

chapter 5|26 pages

The grief process: an analytic approach

chapter 6|16 pages

The grief process: holistic views

chapter 7|22 pages

The resolution of grief

chapter 8|20 pages

The mental processes of grief

chapter 10|14 pages

The relationship with the deceased

chapter 11|26 pages

Loss of a son or daughter

chapter 12|26 pages

Death of a relative or friend

chapter 14|6 pages

Conclusions