Grief is one of the great mysteries still facing science. Why do we grieve? What purpose does it serve? Grief has no evolutionary benefit, no survival value. From a psychological perspective, grief is a healthy response to the loss of a loved one—grief is good, despite how painful it is—but this still doesn't explain WHY grief is good. Indeed, one of the symptoms of grief itself is CONFUSION—"Why do I feel this way? Why did this happen?"—and disorientation—"I feel lost," "The world feels strange and different," "Where do I go from here?"

One of the best gifts you can give another person is an EXPLANATION, an articulation of their own experience that helps people make sense of themselves—this has been at the core of philosophy since its inception, most notably emphasized by Socrates and Plato, and was carried to its summit by one of the greatest philosophers of the platonic and Christian traditions, Saint Augustine of Hippo. In his Confessions, Augustine explored the abyss of the human self as few had done before or since, and among his most poignant investigations are those involving the loss of two individuals he loved very dearly: his mother and an unnamed friend. Augustine was a medieval master of psychology, and his investigations into grief deserve a wider scholarly treatment. But more importantly, they help us to understand ourselves—the old Delphic injunction and the famous mission of Socrates—when understanding ourselves is most important, when we feel most alone, when we lose the people we love.

Music:
Kai Engel, "Harbor"
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Chris Zabriskie, "We Were Never Meant to Live Here"
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Stock footage provided by Videvo, downloaded from [ Ссылка ]

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