Evolutionary Perspectives on Death

Description

The latest volume in this multidisciplinary series on key topics in evolutionary studies, Evolutionary Perspectives on Death provides an evolutionary analysis of mortality and the consideration of death. Bringing together noted experts from a variety of fields, the books emanate from conferences held at Oakland University, and are dedicated to providing wide ranging and occasionally provocative views of human evolution. The volume on death covers topics from biology, anthropology, psychology, sociology and philosophy, with contributors addressing how evolution informs the process of comprehending, grieving, depicting, celebrating, and accepting death. Among the topics covered: Evolutionary perspectives on the loss of a twinNonhuman primate responses to deathDeath in literatureWitnessing and representing the death of petsThe role of human decomposition facilities in shaping American perspectives on death This insightful volume showcases groundbreaking empirical and theoretical research addressing death and mortality from an evolutionary perspective, demonstrating the intellectual value of an interdisciplinary approach to understanding psychological processes and behavior. Chapter 6 of this book is available open access under a CC BY 4.0 license at link.springer.com. Front Matter ....Pages i-xi The Role of Death in Life: Exploring the Interface Between Terror Management Theory and Evolutionary Psychology (Tom Pyszczynski)....Pages 1-24 Evolutionary Perspectives on the Loss of a Twin (Nancy L. Segal)....Pages 25-36 Beyond the Search for Suigiston: How Evolution Offers Oxygen for Suicidology (C. A. Soper)....Pages 37-61 Animacy and Mortality Salience: New Directions for the Adaptive Memory Literature (Jeanette Altarriba, Stephanie A. Kazanas)....Pages 63-76 Nonhuman Primate Responses to Death (Sarah F. Brosnan, Jennifer Vonk)....Pages 77-107 Did Human Reality Denial Breach the Evolutionary Psychological Barrier of Mortality Salience? A Theory that Can Explain Unusual Features of the Origin and Fate of Our Species (Ajit Varki)....Pages 109-135 Death in Literature (Joseph Carroll)....Pages 137-159 Last Moments: Witnessing and Representing the Death of Pets (Jessica Pierce, Ross Taylor)....Pages 161-176 The Evolution of American Perspectives Concerning Treatment of the Dead and the Role of Human Decomposition Facilities (Katie Zejdlik, Sarah E. Burke)....Pages 177-197 Back Matter ....Pages 199-205