Death may be viewed as a threat or as a catalyst toward greater awareness and creativity in life.
Death is inseparable from the whole of human experience; the study of death touches on the past, present, and future.
The study of death takes into account the actions of individuals as well as the customs of entire societies; it leads naturally to the arena of political decisions and ultimately brings us to choices of an emphatically personal nature.
Coming to terms with personal mortality can be understood as a process of mourning—a lifelong experience in coping with uncertainty, impermanence, and vulnerability, all qualities inherent in being mortal.
The conceptualizing of death in the future raises intriguing questions relating to technology, ethics, law, and the whole range of customs and practices that have been part of the way humans traditionally have dealt with death. For example, given an ever-growing population and increasing demand for land, will ground burials continue to be a reasonable option for future generations?
Achieving an appropriate death (defined as the death a person would choose for himself or herself should such a choice be possible) requires that we first rid ourselves of the notion that death is never appropriate.
