New Philosopher – July 2019

NewPhilosopher

F

ormostofus,formostofthetime,wekeepit well

outofview.Wekeepdeathveiled,barelymentioned

asa motivatorinthedailywalks,thefrequentmedi-

calcheck-ups,theincessantcheckingthatlovedonesare

safe.Butwhendeathtakesawaysomeonewelove,weare

usuallycaughtunawares.Howhavewebeensocarefreeand

foolish?Atthesametime,howwelongtoreturntothat

naïveandcarefreestate.

In18thcenturyEurope,thedeathmaskwasa mould

takenfromthefaceofa deadperson.Asthebodycooled,so

closetolife,yetnot,rapidhandscoveredthefaceinwaxor

plaster;thedeathmaskwastocapturethefinalexpression

forevermore.Deathmaskswereusedinfuneraryrites,and

forthoseofnote,convertedintobronzeanddisplayedat

librariesandmuseums.

Thepracticeofcapturingdeathinwax,plaster,orbronze,

deathrituals,deathfestivals,dancingwith the dead,living

withthedead,embalmingthedead,wakesandfestivalssuch

as TheDayoftheDeadinMexico,areallformsofexposure

tothefinalactofdeath– andalsoactsofcelebrationandrec-

ognitionofa lifeonceled.Thetherapyofexposure,a proven

strategyformanymentaldisordersfromphobiastoanxieties

is,too,it seems,a well-troddenpathformanyculturesinthe

therapyofgrief,andassistsa returntoa morecarefreestate–

inwhichwelive,whilewecan.

News from nowhere

“Let us imagine a number of men in chains,

and all condemned to death, where some are

killed each day in the sight of the others, and

those who remain see their own fate in that

of their fellows, and wait their turn, looking

at each other sorrowfully and without hope.

It is an image of the condition of men.”

Blaise Pascal

Photo: Two men in the process of making a death mask, New York, c. 1908, Library of Congress

Death

therapy