ABSTRACT
In this chapter, the author starts with a short examination of the concept of a “death attitude”. Following it he considers the distinction between “my death” and death in general. A scheme of antecedents and consequences is further proposed as a type of conceptual space in which we can locate different species of attitudes related to the end of life. The rich variety of death-related beliefs can be systematized by locating them in a space of antecedents and consequences of death. Antecedents of death include processes that finish in death. Consequences of death refer to the impact our death may have on ourselves, our work and goals, and our relationships with others. Death attitudes that relate to the certain or possible effects of death on our self and life can be considered “core attitudes” in the sense that they are related to the most important facets of ourselves that can be “touched” by death.
