In search of a mature concept of death

In this article, the merits and shortcomings of empirical studies of children's notions of death are first discussed. It is argued that for the sake of sound methodology, the rich, connotatiue notion of death is reduced to and impoverished by an assembly of denotative meanings. Further, it is proposed that concepts emanating from the North American culture are possibly too culture dependent to be universally accepted. Deterministic, biologizing theories of cognitive development in children are criticized because of their tendency to explain the changing notions of children in terms of invariable sequences of “stages”-a conceptualization that underestimates the impact of environmental influences, such as confrontation with death and catastrophes. Second, it is argued that although growth and development provide adaptation they do not necessarily foster maturity. To make life meaningful, the question of why we live has to be answered. The ultimate threat is not failure, sickness, or death, but meaning-lessness. It is proposed that to formulate a mature concept of death one has to find absolutes in our existence and choose those that have social, spiritual, and emotional relevance.