Thomas Attig
Biographic Data
| ID | 5241327 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Thomas Attig |
| GIVEN NAMES | Thomas |
| FAMILY NAME | Attig |
| SIGNATURE | ATTIG T |
| AFFILIATIONS | Bowling Green State University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 13 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 40 |
| WORKS AS AUTHOR | 13 |
| WORKS AS EDITOR | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 1976 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| H-INDEX | 3 |
Disenfranchised Grief Revisited
Kenneth Doka's two anthologies on disenfranchised grief (Doka, 1989, 2002) are filled with discussions of the effects of disenfranchisement and its scope. The present article furthers reflection on both topics. It first explores the nature of disenfranchisement as a denial of a mourner's “right to grieve” and analyzes the empathic, political, and ethical failures involved in this denial. It then notes that the literature on the subject is dominat…
Meanings of Death Seen Through the Lens of Grieving
Through the lens of grief we can discern many meanings of death, human existence, suffering, the life of the deceased, the life of the mourner, and love. This essay summarizes what the author, in part inspired by Herman Feifel, has learned about such meanings in nearly three decades of thinking, teaching, and writing about grieving as an active response to what happens in bereavement and the suffering that loss entails. It recasts his rethinking …
How We GrieveRelearning the World
What do we do when a friend, relative, or loved one dies? If we wish to understand the experience of loss, we must learn details of survivors' stories. In How We Grieve, Thomas Attig tells real-life tales to illustrate the poignant disruption of life and suffering that loss entails. He shows how through grieving we meet daunting challenges, make critical choices, and reshape our lives. These intimate treatments of coping hold valuable lessons tha…
Can we talk? on the elusiveness of dialogue
In this article, I write about dialogue on ethical issues in the flied of death and dying. I leave it to others to address the specific ethical issues. My focus is applied ethics in general and especially our manners of speaking about ethical issues. I first consulter an appropriate approach to applied ethics that places great emphasis on narrative and dialogue. I then treat the theme of dialogue itself. The title “Can We Talk?” defines the shape…
Person-centered death education
A person-centered, humanities-based approach to teaching death and dying is described. It emphasizes ideas that students can make their own in developing self-understanding, understanding of others, and means of coping and of helping others in facing the mysteries of life, death, and suffering. Storytelling is central, rather than peripheral, to its effectiveness. Reflection on humanness (what it is to be a person) and humaneness (what it is to r…
The importance of conceiving of grief as an active process
Concepts of the grieving process as passive are rejected, and concepts of the process as active are embraced. Standard stage-phase and medical treatments of bereavement are based on the belief that grieving is experienced passively. The emotion of grief and the coping process of grieving are distinguished; the emotion is said to render the bereaved passive and the coping process is said to challenge the bereaved, presenting them with choices. Alt…
Wrongful death statutes and expert testimony
This article addresses issues arising within the evolving practice of the use of expert witnesses in wrongful death cases. It begins with a sketch of the currently extant variety of wrongful death statutes. Next, it characterizes the types of expert witness testimony that have been standardly recognized in such cases. It then outlines and critically assesses an attempt by an economist to enter testimony seemingly beyond legitimate bounds. Finally…
Perceptions of grief among university students
Although research on grief has proliferated in recent years, few studies have attempted to examine the grief perceptions of people surrounding the bereaved. In this investigation, 123 undergraduates responded to an open-ended survey that assessed their perceptions of various aspects of grief, including physical and emotional features, time course, interpersonal impact, coping strategies, and methods of intervening. Results revealed that many stud…
Relearning the World
Coping with mortality
The idea of “self-mourning” can be extended to shed light on the existential challenge of coping with life in the shadow of death. Coming to terms with personal finiteness and mortality can be understood as a grieving process. Just as grieving the death of another is an extremely complex and multifaceted experience with emotional, physical, spiritual, intellectual, and social impacts challenging the very integrity of the grieving person, so confr…
Phenomenology and The Problem of History
Husserlian Meditations
(1976). Husserlian Meditations: How Words Present Things, by Robert Sokolowski. Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology: Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 212-214
New Light on Edmund Husserl's “Cartesian Meditations”
Meanings of Death Seen Through the Lens of Grieving
Through the lens of grief we can discern many meanings of death, human existence, suffering, the life of the deceased, the life of the mourner, and love. This essay summarizes what the author, in part inspired by Herman Feifel, has learned about such meanings in nearly three decades of thinking, teaching, and writing about grieving as an active response to what happens in bereavement and the suffering that loss entails. It recasts his rethinking …
Perceptions of grief among university students
Although research on grief has proliferated in recent years, few studies have attempted to examine the grief perceptions of people surrounding the bereaved. In this investigation, 123 undergraduates responded to an open-ended survey that assessed their perceptions of various aspects of grief, including physical and emotional features, time course, interpersonal impact, coping strategies, and methods of intervening. Results revealed that many stud…
The importance of conceiving of grief as an active process
Concepts of the grieving process as passive are rejected, and concepts of the process as active are embraced. Standard stage-phase and medical treatments of bereavement are based on the belief that grieving is experienced passively. The emotion of grief and the coping process of grieving are distinguished; the emotion is said to render the bereaved passive and the coping process is said to challenge the bereaved, presenting them with choices. Alt…
Person-centered death education
A person-centered, humanities-based approach to teaching death and dying is described. It emphasizes ideas that students can make their own in developing self-understanding, understanding of others, and means of coping and of helping others in facing the mysteries of life, death, and suffering. Storytelling is central, rather than peripheral, to its effectiveness. Reflection on humanness (what it is to be a person) and humaneness (what it is to r…
Relearning the World
Coping with mortality
The idea of “self-mourning” can be extended to shed light on the existential challenge of coping with life in the shadow of death. Coming to terms with personal finiteness and mortality can be understood as a grieving process. Just as grieving the death of another is an extremely complex and multifaceted experience with emotional, physical, spiritual, intellectual, and social impacts challenging the very integrity of the grieving person, so confr…
Phenomenology and The Problem of History
Husserlian Meditations
(1976). Husserlian Meditations: How Words Present Things, by Robert Sokolowski. Journal of the British Society for Phenomenology: Vol. 7, No. 3, pp. 212-214
New Light on Edmund Husserl's “Cartesian Meditations”
Coping with mortality
The idea of “self-mourning” can be extended to shed light on the existential challenge of coping with life in the shadow of death. Coming to terms with personal finiteness and mortality can be understood as a grieving process. Just as grieving the death of another is an extremely complex and multifaceted experience with emotional, physical, spiritual, intellectual, and social impacts challenging the very integrity of the grieving person, so confr…
Perceptions of grief among university students
Although research on grief has proliferated in recent years, few studies have attempted to examine the grief perceptions of people surrounding the bereaved. In this investigation, 123 undergraduates responded to an open-ended survey that assessed their perceptions of various aspects of grief, including physical and emotional features, time course, interpersonal impact, coping strategies, and methods of intervening. Results revealed that many stud…
Relearning the World
The importance of conceiving of grief as an active process
Concepts of the grieving process as passive are rejected, and concepts of the process as active are embraced. Standard stage-phase and medical treatments of bereavement are based on the belief that grieving is experienced passively. The emotion of grief and the coping process of grieving are distinguished; the emotion is said to render the bereaved passive and the coping process is said to challenge the bereaved, presenting them with choices. Alt…
Wrongful death statutes and expert testimony
This article addresses issues arising within the evolving practice of the use of expert witnesses in wrongful death cases. It begins with a sketch of the currently extant variety of wrongful death statutes. Next, it characterizes the types of expert witness testimony that have been standardly recognized in such cases. It then outlines and critically assesses an attempt by an economist to enter testimony seemingly beyond legitimate bounds. Finally…
Person-centered death education
A person-centered, humanities-based approach to teaching death and dying is described. It emphasizes ideas that students can make their own in developing self-understanding, understanding of others, and means of coping and of helping others in facing the mysteries of life, death, and suffering. Storytelling is central, rather than peripheral, to its effectiveness. Reflection on humanness (what it is to be a person) and humaneness (what it is to r…
Can we talk? on the elusiveness of dialogue
In this article, I write about dialogue on ethical issues in the flied of death and dying. I leave it to others to address the specific ethical issues. My focus is applied ethics in general and especially our manners of speaking about ethical issues. I first consulter an appropriate approach to applied ethics that places great emphasis on narrative and dialogue. I then treat the theme of dialogue itself. The title “Can We Talk?” defines the shape…
How We GrieveRelearning the World
What do we do when a friend, relative, or loved one dies? If we wish to understand the experience of loss, we must learn details of survivors' stories. In How We Grieve, Thomas Attig tells real-life tales to illustrate the poignant disruption of life and suffering that loss entails. He shows how through grieving we meet daunting challenges, make critical choices, and reshape our lives. These intimate treatments of coping hold valuable lessons tha…
Disenfranchised Grief Revisited
Kenneth Doka's two anthologies on disenfranchised grief (Doka, 1989, 2002) are filled with discussions of the effects of disenfranchisement and its scope. The present article furthers reflection on both topics. It first explores the nature of disenfranchisement as a denial of a mourner's “right to grieve” and analyzes the empathic, political, and ethical failures involved in this denial. It then notes that the literature on the subject is dominat…
Meanings of Death Seen Through the Lens of Grieving
Through the lens of grief we can discern many meanings of death, human existence, suffering, the life of the deceased, the life of the mourner, and love. This essay summarizes what the author, in part inspired by Herman Feifel, has learned about such meanings in nearly three decades of thinking, teaching, and writing about grieving as an active response to what happens in bereavement and the suffering that loss entails. It recasts his rethinking …
Psychology (10 works) · Grief, Bereavement, and Mental Health (8 works) · Epistemology (7 works) · Philosophy (7 works) · Psychotherapist (7 works) · Grief (6 works) · Social Psychology (6 works) · Psychoanalysis (5 works) · Social Psychology (5 works) · Computer Science (4 works)