Waiting time to cremate after passing away?

Discuss philosophical questions regarding theism (and atheism), and discuss religion as it relates to philosophy. This includes any philosophical discussions that happen to be about god, gods, or a 'higher power' or the belief of them. This also generally includes philosophical topics about organized or ritualistic mysticism or about organized, common or ritualistic beliefs in the existence of supernatural phenomenon.
Belindi
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Re: Waiting time to cremate after passing away?

Post by Belindi »

It shows how important intention is for moral behaviour, Steve.
Steve3007
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Re: Waiting time to cremate after passing away?

Post by Steve3007 »

Belindi wrote:It shows how important intention is for moral behaviour, Steve.
I see your point, but one could argue that intention is not relevant for its own sake, but is only relevant insofar as it is indicative of a particular action. In the example of your preparation of dead bodies, saying this:

"This at least would ensure they could not breathe and so were properly dead."

indicates that you might consider the action of preparing a person for burial when they're not yet dead, and killing them.
Belindi
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Re: Waiting time to cremate after passing away?

Post by Belindi »

Steve3007 wrote: July 9th, 2020, 5:46 am
Belindi wrote:It shows how important intention is for moral behaviour, Steve.
I see your point, but one could argue that intention is not relevant for its own sake, but is only relevant insofar as it is indicative of a particular action. In the example of your preparation of dead bodies, saying this:

"This at least would ensure they could not breathe and so were properly dead."

indicates that you might consider the action of preparing a person for burial when they're not yet dead, and killing them.


That is a reasonable inference but as a matter of fact it didn't happen.

Good intentions are not enough. Good action also needs knowledge and judgement not to mention skill. Don't these four cover all actions?
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The Beast
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Re: Waiting time to cremate after passing away?

Post by The Beast »

Feelings for your loss. It is hard to sit for so long with nothing to say. Maybe, it is his last experiment. I surely see why.
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h_k_s
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Re: Waiting time to cremate after passing away?

Post by h_k_s »

The Charlton Heston movie Soylent Green comes to mind. Similarly Herodotus the ancient Greek historian speaks of an Asian group called the Phagocytoi (Greek for "eaters") who ate their recently departed relatives at a large banquet. Fish, insects, and spiders often eat each other as well. For mammals it is rare to eat a member of the same species, but rats will do so.

You can buy funeral and burial services in advance. This is called "pre-need." I will go with a grave in the ground. When I lived on the Pacific Coast I liked the idea of burial at sea. Being a military veteran I could choose that route if desired. But now that I live in the mountains away from the shore, I am feeling more like having a regular earth burial.

When you get cremated, your bones are left over. Then they have to run your bones through a crushing machine which pulverizes them into dust. That seems creepy to me.
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Semtek
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Re: Waiting time to cremate after passing away?

Post by Semtek »

I think that what needs to be addressed is how we do or should conceptualize death. For example some people at some point preferred interment in anticipation of bodily resurrection. Others think that reconstruction of the psycho-physical person will be a special divine act at the general resurrection (and will be cremated). Maybe different claims imply unique (and perhaps incompatible) metaphysical committments.
It looks like the only poster to talk about death is found in the following from Gee:
death is not an event; it is a process. Just like birth is not an event; it is a process. Most people don't consider this,
First I am not sure what the distinction is here between an event and a process. So if we could produce some definitions that would be helpful.
But just for fun, I am not sure what it means to say that death is a process. And of course that all depends on how we define death. Which I would like to to hear input about.
Maybe if you think that your death is entailed by your birth (since we are mortal) then maybe life and its experiences and challenges can be seen as a preparation for or overcoming of anxieties or dilemmas about death which seem to be lifelong processes (especially if death means cessation of being; but if after death there is an answer to those seekings then they would not be lifelong processes and therefore "death" in the sense of mental activities in its anticipation [a set of processes] would cease). But if death is cessation of being then of course that event "death" at which being ceases is not a process. It is the termination of a process (namely consciousness; if consciousness is a process). Likewise, whether birth is a process or event depends on how you define "birth". If it means the point at which a fetus passes through the birth canal and "enters the world" and is viable (i.e. not stillborn) then that is a discrete event. If you want to include all the circumstances that lead to (and follow?) and include the event and view all of change in the universe as some ultimately incomprehensible process then, sure, birth is just one fleeting state of affairs in a larger conitnuous stream of change. But then death and our own death is subjectively prominent whether objectively (and in terms of value) indistinguishable from all other processes or not. So it is worthwhile to talk about it.
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Angel Trismegistus
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Re: Waiting time to cremate after passing away?

Post by Angel Trismegistus »

uncrase wrote: July 6th, 2020, 3:22 am My dad passed away and one of the wishes he has conveyed to my mom was related to that he did not want his body
to be disturbed and/or cremated for a specific amount of time after death. We think it was one week.
...
Any input would be appreciated
My condolences.
If you and your mom "think it was one week," then you should wait one week.
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uncrase
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Re: Waiting time to cremate after passing away?

Post by uncrase »

Thanks everyone for their responses and discussion. Much appreciated and good to read.
Sorry for my late reply, I did not receive notifications and had completely forgotten about this question on here.

Needless to say Angel Trismegistus , my mom and I did wait the one week.
It was not a question of whether to or not, it was mostly my interest to know the reasons and educate myself on this.

My dad was laid out in my paternal house in an (open) coffin for the whole week, which was at first strange but turned out to be a beautiful process to slowly let go. And the cremation and ceremony were equally beautiful and peaceful.
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