Dan Falk in Undark:
Our relationship with death is a complex one. At an intellectual level, we understand our mortality, yet we go to great lengths to banish the notion from our minds. In most circumstances it’s a taboo subject for conversation. At the same time, we have elaborate rituals around death, and it inspires all manner of art, literature, music, and more. (Think Prince Hamlet’s “To be or not to be” speech, Mozart’s “Requiem,” and the Great Pyramid of Giza.)
And what of our animal cousins? When Charles, a western lowland gorilla, died in the Toronto Zoo last year, did his fellow primates mourn his passing? What does a gazelle think when a member of its herd becomes a lion’s dinner? Questions like these have been very much on the mind of the Spanish philosopher Susana Monsó, whose new book, “Playing Possum: How Animals Understand Death,” invites the reader to think about death from the point of view of the creatures we share the planet with.
While Monsó is a philosopher, her investigation draws on empirical studies from various scientific disciplines. Being a philosopher may even give her an edge, as it allows her to incorporate knowledge from many different fields.
More here.
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