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Articles

Grief Revisited

Michael Williams on death and detachment.

In her article, ‘Is Grief Self-Regarding?’ (Philosophy Now, Issue 17) Christiane Pohl argues that the grief process is selfregarding and that, provided it is pursued in a temperate way, this is a way of healing for the wounded soul. She concludes, “Self-love, which we have described as a form of egoism, is a necessary precondition for a person to carry through the difficult labour of grief and finally also to overcome their loss.” Under normal circumstances I would agree with her. But when the losses we are forced to face are monumental I do not think that her philosophical analysis is adequate. What I want to develop here is an understanding of grief which can sustain us at such times of extreme tragedy.

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