Death and Dying
Title: I'm curious about death. Why do people die?
Information: Many people, from children to adults, have asked this question and wondered why people die. It may be one of the most difficult challenges for human beings to accept that "death is a fact of life." There are some very good resources available that aim to help us understand why people die. I will point out a few of them. Perhaps, they will suggest a direction for further exploration. "When Somebody Dies" The Nemours Foundation's web site, Kid's Health, presents this article for children. The piece looks at "When and How Does it Happen," "Where Do People Go?" "What Does Grieving Mean?" and "What About Me?" http://kidshealth.org/kid/feeling/emotion/somedie_p2.html "Death" This entry from "Wikipedia", a free, online encyclopedia, presents an overview of "death," as it refers to the "cessation of life." It offers this evolutionary perspective: "Biologists believe that the function of death is primarily to permit the operation of evolution." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death In addition you may wish to check out two responses to this question on the AskNSDL website. They are archived under Health/Death and Dying. "Why do people die?" Ali introduces the idea that you might look at this question from different perspective and presents the term, "Thanatology", which refers to the study of death and dying. http://asknsdl.askvrd.org//index.asp?id=8342 "Why do so many people die?" Diane L. provides a comprehensive list of Internet resources that include many different views on the topic. Then, you can decide for yourself what you believe. http://asknsdl.askvrd.org//index.asp?id=8357 A Google search http://www.google.com) is another technique for finding information on the Internet. Here are the steps you can take. 1.) Go to the main Google search page athttp://www.google.com and click on "Advanced Search" (it's next to the box where you would enter your search terms.) 2.) Where it says, "Find results with the exact phrase," type the following: why do people die? 3.) While you're on the Advanced Search page, limit your results by trying different searches on these domains: .gov, .edu and .org. You'll retrieve many results, but eliminating the .com's will help weed out some of less reliable sources. I found a good list of books by performing the above, advanced search, limited to the domain: .edu. Here is one of them: "Talking About Death: A Dialogue Between Parent and Child" by Earl Grollman, Beacon Press, ISBN 0807023639 (1991). This book is for parents and children to read together. You can read more about it and others at the Argus Institute for Families and Veterinary Medicine web site from Colorado State University. http://www.argusinstitute.colostate.edu/parentbooks.htm You may find many other good books, magazine articles, videos and more at your school and/or public library. Be sure to check with the librarian and ask someone if you need more help. Thank you for sending your question to AskNSDL. Asking questions and talking is a good place to start. The AskNSDL staff
Category: Death and Dying