The Living and the Dead in an Interdisciplinary Perspective

Abstract. This article is introductory for the topic “The living and the dead” of the fourth issue of our journal. The attitude towards the living and the dead, the of the fourth journal issue. The attitude towards the living and the dead, the life, the death and the immortality is everlasting and relevant as it affects any person in one or another way regardless of the times a person lives. Throughout the whole history the image of the dead in culture and society has served as a certain key to the world of the living. Analysis of death sheds light on the structure of human identity and changes it goes through. Attitude towards the dead is a yardstick of culture and helps to analyze parameters of humanity. The image of the “after world” has been formed as a reflection of “this world”, and notions of the “after life” influence the image of the mortal life. The living has expanded rules into the dead society. Death played a very special role in maintaining and framing the social space. For understanding traditional societies the idea of constant presence of the dead in the world of the living is important. The profile of the journal allowed to present an approach to the topic from a stand point of different sciences, i.e. anthropology, archaeology, philology and philosophy, in the section “topic of the issue” and in a number of presentations in other sections and in discussion materials.

Keywords: living and dead, world of the dead, death, soul, funeral ceremony, mythology, world model, rites of passage, humanity, memory.