Death

== Psychology ==
{{see also|Death anxiety}}

Death studies is a field within [[psychology]].<ref name="oxforddeathpsych">{{Cite encyclopedia |last1=Solomon |first1=Sheldon |last2=Piven |first2=J.S. |title=Death and Dying |encyclopedia=Oxford Bibliographies Online |doi=10.1093/obo/9780199828340-0144 |date=2017-05-09 |orig-date=2014 |url=https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199828340/obo-9780199828340-0144.xml |url-access=subscription |publisher=Oxford University |access-date=11 August 2021 |archive-date=22 June 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210622105010/https://www.oxfordbibliographies.com/view/document/obo-9780199828340/obo-9780199828340-0144.xml |url-status=live}}</ref> To varying degrees people inherently fear death, both the process and the eventuality; it is hard wired and part of the 'survival instinct' of all animals.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-03-24 |title=Study into who is least afraid of death {{!}} University of Oxford |url=https://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2017-03-24-study-who-least-afraid-death |access-date=2023-11-02 |website=www.ox.ac.uk |language=en}}</ref> Discussing, thinking about, or planning for their deaths causes them discomfort. This fear may cause them to put off financial planning, preparing a [[will and testament]], or requesting help from a [[hospice]] organization.

[[Mortality salience]] is the awareness that death is inevitable. However, [[self-esteem]] and culture are ways to reduce the [[anxiety]] this effect can cause.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Harmon-Jones |first1=Eddie |last2=Simon |first2=Linda |last3=Greenburg |first3=Jeff |last4=Pyszczynski |first4=Tom |last5=Solomon |first5=Sheldon |last6=McGregor |first6=Holly |date=1997 |title=Terror management theory and self-esteem: Evidence that increased self-esteem reduced mortality salience effects. |url=https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037%2F0022-3514.72.1.24Journa |journal=Journal of Personality and Social Psychology |volume=72 |issue=1 |pages=24–36 |doi=10.1037/0022-3514.72.1.24 |pmid=9008372 |s2cid=32261410 |via=APA PsycNet |access-date=17 February 2023 |archive-date=17 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230217175057/https://psycnet.apa.org/doiLanding?doi=10.1037/0022-3514.72.1.24Journa |url-status=live }}</ref> The awareness of someone's own death can cause a deepened bond in their [[In-group and out-group|in-group]] as a [[Defence mechanism|defense mechanism]]. This can also cause the person to become very judging. In a study, two groups were formed; one group was asked to reflect upon their mortality, the other was not, afterwards, the groups were told to set a [[Bail bond|bond]] for a prostitute. The group that did not reflect on death had an average of $50, the group who was reminded about their death had an average of $455.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Pyszczynski |first=Thomas A. |title=In the wake of 9/11: the psychology of terror |date=2003 |publisher=American Psychological Association |others=Jeff Greenberg, Sheldon Solomon |isbn=1-55798-954-0 |location=Washington, DC |oclc=49719188}}</ref>

Different people have different responses to the idea of their deaths. Philosopher [[Galen Strawson]] writes that the death that many people wish for is an instant, painless, unexperienced annihilation.<ref name="Strawson-2018">{{Cite book |last=Strawson |first=Galen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=c_9MDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 |title=Things that Bother Me: Death, Freedom, the Self, Etc |date=2018 |publisher=New York Review of Books |isbn=978-1-68137-220-4 |pages=72–73 |language=en |access-date=2 July 2019 |archive-date=30 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200730003828/https://books.google.com/books?id=c_9MDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA72 |url-status=live}}</ref> In this unlikely scenario, the person dies without realizing it and without being able to fear it. One moment the person is walking, eating, or sleeping, and the next moment, the person is dead. Strawson reasons that this type of death would not take anything away from the person, as he believes a person cannot have a legitimate claim to ownership in the future.<ref name="Strawson-2018" /><ref>{{Cite book |last=Strawson |first=Galen |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=z2XODQAAQBAJ&pg=PT108 |title=The Subject of Experience |date=2017 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=978-0-19-877788-5 |pages=108–110 |language=en |access-date=2 July 2019 |archive-date=31 July 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200731135737/https://books.google.com/books?id=z2XODQAAQBAJ&pg=PT108 |url-status=live}}</ref>