Title
The Hour Of Our Death: The Classic History Of Western Attitudes Toward Death Over The Last One Thousand Years
Processing time: 1-3 days
US Orders Ships in: 3-5 days
International Orders Ships in: 8-12 days
Return Policy: 15-days return on defective items
Payment Option
An Absolutely Magnificent Book (The New Republic)The Fruit Of Almost Two Decades Of Studythat Traces The Changes In Western Attitudes Toward Death And Dying From The Earliest Christian Times To The Present Day.A Truly Landmark Study, The Hour Of Our Death Reveals A Pattern Of Gradually Developing Evolutionary Stages In Our Perceptions Of Life In Relation To Death, Each Stage Representing A Virtual Redefinition Of Human Nature.Starting At The Very Foundations Of Western Culture, The Eminent Historian Phillipe Aris Shows How, From Graecoroman Times Through The First Ten Centuries Of The Common Era, Death Was Too Common To Be Frightening; Each Life Was Quietly Subordinated To The Community, Which Paid Its Respects And Then Moved On. Aris Identifies The First Major Shift In Attitude With The Turn Of The Eleventh Century When A Sense Of Individuality Began To Rise And With It, Profound Consequences: Death No Longer Meant Merely The Weakening Of Community, But Rather The Destruction Of Self. Hence The Growing Fear Of The Afterlife, New Conceptions Of The Last Judgment, And The First Attempts (By Masses And Other Rituals) To Guarantee A Better Life In The Next World. In The 1500S Attention Shifted From The Demise Of The Self To That Of The Loved One (As Family Supplants Community), And By The Nineteenth Century Death Comes To Be Viewed As Simply A Staging Post Toward Reunion In The Hereafter. Finally, Aris Shows Why Death Has Become Such An Unendurable Truth In Our Own Centuryhow It Has Been Nearly Banished From Our Daily Livesand Points Out What May Be Done To Retame This Secret Terror.The Richness Of Aris'S Source Material And Investigative Work Is Breathtaking. While Exploring Everything From Churches, Religious Rituals, And Graveyards (With Their Often Macabre Headstones And Monuments), To Wills And Testaments, Love Letters, Literature, Paintings, Diaries, Town Plans, Crime And Sanitation Reports, And Grave Robbing Complaints, Aries Ranges Across Europe To Russia On The One Hand And To England And America On The Other. As He Sorts Out The Tangled Mysteries Of Our Accumulated Terrors And Beliefs, We Come To Understand The Historyindeed The Pathologyof Our Intellectual And Psychological Tensions In The Face Of Death.
⚠️ WARNING (California Proposition 65):
This product may contain chemicals known to the State of California to cause cancer, birth defects, or other reproductive harm.
For more information, please visit www.P65Warnings.ca.gov.
- Q: What is the main topic of 'The Hour of Our Death'? A: 'The Hour of Our Death' by Philippe Ariès explores the evolution of Western attitudes toward death over the last thousand years, examining how perceptions of death have changed from early Christian times to the present.
- Q: How many pages does this book have? A: The book contains 696 pages.
- Q: Who is the author of 'The Hour of Our Death'? A: The author of the book is Philippe Ariès, a noted historian.
- Q: When was 'The Hour of Our Death' published? A: 'The Hour of Our Death' was published on July 22, 2008.
- Q: What is the binding type of this book? A: This book is available in paperback binding.
- Q: What edition of 'The Hour of Our Death' is available? A: This is the second edition of 'The Hour of Our Death'.
- Q: Is there any specific material used in this book? A: The product details do not specify a particular material used in the book.
- Q: What are the key themes discussed in the book? A: Key themes include the changing perceptions of death, the impact of individuality on attitudes toward death, and the cultural rituals surrounding death across different historical periods.
- Q: Does this book contain illustrations or photographs? A: The product details do not mention any illustrations or photographs included in the book.
- Q: Is 'The Hour of Our Death' suitable for academic study? A: Yes, 'The Hour of Our Death' is a scholarly work suitable for academic study, given its extensive research and historical analysis.