Ontology and magic: A conceptual exploration of denial following bereavement

Why is it that we commonly experience such difficulty in accepting the death of someone close to us? It is the contention of this paper that one of the conglomeration of issues raised by the death of another person concerns the challenge of assimilating the transition from existence to non-existence. This is an ontological dilemma, mediated by both cognitive and linguistic structures. Cognitive factors operate to the extent that we attempt to apply an implicit principle of continuity to both concrete and abstract concepts, and defend this principle from disconfirmation by resort to magical thinking. Linguistic factors may influence reactions to bereavement to the extent that we commonly use such concepts as “identity” and “person” so as to engender an expectancy of persistence beyond death and that our defence of this expectation is again reflected in magical thinking. From this particular perspective then, the denial associated with bereavement is both cognitively and linguistically mediated. It is as such a structural phenomenon, the cognitive aspect of which may be rooted in a fundamental way of thinking about the world while the linguistic aspect would be more culturally relative. The societal response to magical thinking may be even more culturally bound, such mysticism typically being viewed as a type of medical deviance, to be “cured,” thereby effectively denying continuity. Possibly then, the relative merits of disengagement versus continued connection with the deceased become just a matter of perspective. The issue is a broad and speculative one touching on just a single aspect of bereavement, the theoretical position being that by unpacking each of the various issues raised by death and loss, some further understanding may emerge of the cumulative human reaction of grieving. An associated rating scale is offered.