Deck 19: The Meaning and Place of Death in Life

Question 1

In the vignette about Gotami and the Buddha, .

A) Gotami is never able to come to terms with her grief for her dead son
B) the Buddha teaches Gotami that she should not expect him to perform miracles
C) Gotami learns that death comes to everyone
D) the Buddha claims that human lives are more important than other lives
E) we are taught that death is a good thing

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following ideas is not found in the Hebrew and Christian Scriptures in what they have to say about "immortality"? Do they avoid saying that it:

A) Involves the reincarnation of the soul until nirvana is achieved
B) Includes a diminished form of life as is known here, one similar to the ancient notion of Hades
C) Is located in what one leaves behind at one's death
D) Is sometimes associated only with divine beings
E) May be given only to specific human beings

Answer 2

A

Question 3

The Chinese Yin/Yang symbol .

A) suggests that life and death are not simply opposites
B) is an image portraying the notion that wherever there is life there is also death
C) symbolically opposes the notion that life and death are direct contraries to each other
D) suggests that death never completely overcomes life
E) All of these

Answer 3

E

Question 4

If a person believes that death is a "wall," .

A) then necessarily, that person also believes that death is always an evil
B) that person is less likely to want to be treated with artificial nutrition and hydration
C) he or she holds a belief similar to one of Socrates' beliefs
D) he or she will also believe that death is always a good
E) None of these

Question 5

"Immortality" in the Jewish and Christian scriptures:

A) May refer to a diminished life style after death
B) Often refers to what continues from oneself through one's children
C) Is sometimes associated only with divine beings
D) May be given only to certain human beings
E) All of these

Question 6

Feifel's portrayal of death as a door or a wall is meant to help us .

A) plan for future implications after death
B) assess our lives
C) evaluate death
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 7

According to some African beliefs discussed in Chapter 19 in the eighth edition of Death & Dying, Life & Living, __________.

A) human life is quite different from other forms of life
B) death is wholly unlike other crises in human life
C) the "living-dead" belong to another world
D) the "living-dead" have no concern for those still alive
E) None of these

Question 8

Some ancient Greek views of an afterlife included .

A) resurrection of the body
B) becoming one with Brahman
C) ending the cycle of rebirths
D) immortality of the soul
E) None of these

Question 9

By contrast with the views of Socrates, another ancient Greek notion of an afterlife is that:

A) Moral persons are rewarded after they die.
B) The kingdom of the dead is a dreary, unhappy place.
C) It is very much like the life we know here.
D) Individuals are reincarnated until they learn to indulge their desires no longer.
E) God will resurrect everyone either to new life or to eternal death.

Question 10

At his trial, Socrates portrays death as possibly .

A) involving punishment for one's sins
B) leading to reincarnation
C) leading to permanent loss of consciousness
D) resulting in a reward for one's good deeds
E) None of these

Question 11

To face one's mortality is to recognize the significance of such questions as:

A) Why was I born?
B) How are life and death related?
C) What is the meaning of my having lived?
D) Where there is death, is there no life?
E) All of these

Question 12

Images of "heaven" and "hell" can be found in:

A) Ancient Greek thought
B) Certain African beliefs discussed in Chapter 19 in the eighth edition of Death & Dying, Life & Living
C) Islam
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 13

To say that the soul is "essentially" immortal means that .

A) one's body will be resurrected
B) the soul by its very nature cannot die
C) the body and the soul are identical
D) a soul can be killed
E) souls can never be separated from bodies

Question 14

If one believes that death is a "wall," then:

A) One will see death as an irrevocable evil.
B) One will hope to live on in some form of afterlife.
C) One will be happy to die.
D) One's attitude toward death will be influenced in some - not necessarily any obvious - way.
E) One will give up hope when one is dying.

Question 15

The Hebrew word nepesh (soul") _.

A) means that the soul is necessarily tied up with a body
B) is linked to the idea of a numinous substance in humans who survives death
C) is a term for an entity that goes to heaven after death
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 16

According to Socrates, death is .

A) a good thing
B) a migration of the body to another place
C) a separation from all those we have ever known
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 17

If one believes that death is a "door," then .

A) one will see death as an irrevocable evil
B) one will believe that there is no afterlife
C) one will be happy to die
D) one's attitude toward death will be influenced in some - not necessarily any obvious - way
E) one will give up hope when one is dying

Question 18

Western religion often associates an afterlife with the concept of:

A) Materialism
B) Reincarnation
C) Heaven and hell
D) Transmigration of souls
E) Nirvana

Question 19

Issues for Critical Reflection #17, "Violent Incidents and Our Security," in the eighth edition of Death & Dying, Life & Living shows:

A) Essential insecurity about our being can lead to overwhelming anxiety
B) Society can do more to protect its members from killings like this
C) Total security from tragedy is an illusion
D) All of the above
E) None of the above

Question 20

How one thinks of the meaning of death .

A) may affect how one thinks about the morality of euthanasia
B) may affect how one treats dying persons
C) may affect one's beliefs about suicide, but not necessarily in an obvious way
D) is likely to be related to philosophical or theological beliefs
E) All of these

Question 21

When Krishna says we cast off our bodies at death just as we cast off old worn out coats, he:

A) Proclaims that our bodies are resurrected
B) Supports the notion of the transmigration of souls
C) Claims that there is no such thing as a "soul"
D) Tells us that death means the total cessation of our existence in any form
E) Portrays death as a "wall"

Question 22

According to Lifton's account of symbolic immortality, "natural immortality" refers to .

A) the continuation of one's life in what one creates
B) some form of personal afterlife
C) the continuation of one's life in one's biological descendants
D) a life continued in a different, spiritual world
E) the continuation of one's life in the physical world around us

Question 23

Near-death experiences _.

A) sometimes occur when one is near death
B) clearly demonstrate what the afterlife is like
C) are experiences which one has while one is dead
D) are not like other experiences people have, for instance, while they are without oxygen
E) show no similarities among people of different cultures

Question 24

In Buddhist thought, death can be an evil because .

A) it leads to escape from the wheel of rebirths
B) it may lead to rebirth into another life of suffering
C) it leads to a state beyond desire
D) it represents a rejection of the possibility of nirvana
E) it leads to a state that is serene and peaceful

Question 25

First Snow (see Personal Insights 19.1 in the eighth edition of Death & Dying, Life & Living) is a book for children in which a young girl .

A) has her beliefs confirmed that life and death are but two parts of the same thing
B) is frightened when a snowflake lands on her finger
C) misses an opportunity to experience snow for the first time
D) is told by her parents what it means to say that her grandmother is dying
E) makes her first snowball

Question 26

Hinduism has often associated death with the concept of:

A) Materialism
B) Rebirth
C) Heaven and hell
D) Punishment
E) The "living-dead"

Question 27

According to Kelly and her colleagues, near-death experiences include:

A) Awareness of remote events not accessible to the person's ordinary senses
B) The experience of being out of the body and viewing events going on around it as from a position above
C) Enhanced mental processes at a time when physiological functioning is seriously impaired
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 28

In Hindu thought, after death, the atman or unborn, undying soul is or may be:

A) In one of the heavens awaiting rebirth
B) In a state of eternal bliss with Brahman, having achieved liberation from the cycle of rebirths
C) Immediately reborn
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 29

The belief in reincarnation or rebirth is maintained by:

A) Buddhism
B) Islam
C) Christianity
D) Judaism
E) African religions

Question 30

Which of the following is most compatible with the view of the afterlife portrayed in the sections of the Bhagavad Gita quoted in Chapter 19 in the eighth edition of Death & Dying, Life & Living?

A) Resurrection of the body
B) A journey to Hades
C) The soul's traveling to heaven or hell
D) A no-soul doctrine
E) None of these

Question 31

According to Lifton's account of symbolic immortality, "social immortality" refers to .

A) the continuation of one's life in what one creates
B) some form of personal afterlife
C) the continuation of one's life in one's biological descendants
D) a life continued in a different, spiritual world
E) the continuation of one's life in the physical world around us

Question 32

In Buddhist thought, evil is found in:

A) Birth
B) Death
C) Dissociation from the pleasant
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 33

Other terms often used for "reincarnation" in Hindu thought include:

A) Rebirth
B) Metempsychosis
C) Transmigration of souls
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 34

To have no external behavioral or physiological signs of life .

A) is proof one is "biologically dead"
B) may be taken as evidence of being "clinically dead"
C) indicates one is having experiences of some afterlife
D) provides evidence for an afterlife
E) means one will never regain consciousness

Question 35

According to Lifton, "symbolic immortality" can take which of the following forms?

A) Social
B) Natural
C) Theological
D) Biological
E) All of these

Question 36

Buddhism:

A) Holds that there is a reincarnation, but no eternal soul
B) Teaches that one ought to strive to end the cycle of rebirths
C) Believes that life as it is lived here is suffering
D) All of these
E) None of these

Question 37

According to Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, near-death experiences .

A) provide conclusive evidence of the existence of an afterlife
B) prove that beliefs in the afterlife are in principle restricted to the realm of faith
C) cannot supply empirical evidence about an afterlife
D) are artifacts of the unusual situations in which they occur
E) suggest survival after death is nonsensical

Question 38

Reports of near-death experiences typically involve .

A) meeting with a dark and threatening being
B) an out-of-body experience or sense of detachment from one's physical body
C) lack of awareness of one's surroundings
D) a failure to be pronounced clinically dead
E) no great difficulty in communicating to others what has happened

Question 39

In some African thought, the "living-dead" .

A) are in some other world than this one we know now
B) are completely non-material beings
C) are being punished for how they acted while alive in this world
D) continue to be concerned about the living members of their family and/or clan
E) will at some future point in time be raised from the dead

Question 40

The African beliefs discussed in Chapter 19 in the eighth edition of Death & Dying, Life & Living portray the afterlife as:

A) Heaven
B) Hell
C) Pale and empty
D) Unrelated to this life
E) None of these

Question 41

Distinguish briefly between the concepts of an "immortality of the soul" and "resurrection of the body."

Question 42

Define the concept of a "near-death experience."

Question 43

In your view, which image of an afterlife that was discussed in Chapter 19 was the most appealing? Describe the image and state why you think it is appealing.

Question 44

Suppose people tell you that they were "dead" for 12 hours, and while dead they had certain experiences. Do you accept: (a) That they were "dead", and (b) that while "dead" they had those experiences? Explain carefully your answer to each part.

Question 45

Suppose someone thinks of death as a "wall." Answer both questions that follow.
a. What does this person think happens at death?
b. How might this concept affect what this person believes is the morally correct action to take concerning whether to continue life-sustaining procedures in someone very near to death? Explain your answer carefully.

Question 46

Discuss the role of near-death experiences in providing information about what happens after death. In your discussion, describe what such experiences are like, and then explain why they may or may not tell us what an afterlife might be like.

Question 47

Briefly define each of the following concepts and make clear the distinctions to be drawn between them: (a) Reincarnation of the soul, (b) immortality of the soul, (c) ending the cycle of rebirths, (d) the person's continuing his or her life in heaven or hell, (e) resurrection of the body.

Question 48

Explain the concept of "reincarnation." Link your explanation to a specific religious tradition.

Question 49

Explain Lifton's concept of "symbolic immortality." In what way is this concept important in relationship to Chapter 19 in the eighth edition of Death & Dying, Life & Living?

Question 50

Choose three of the images of an afterlife described in Chapter 19 in the eighth edition of Death & Dying, Life & Living, and distinguish carefully between them. Give enough detail to show clearly what they have in common (if anything), and how they differ.