1
Assignment Topic 5: Death and Stages of Grief
Name
Grand Canyon University: HLT-302
8/19/2020
Professor
1
, Elements of Grief and Loss 2
The nature of grief and loss is a very personal and individual experience that is unique to
each person. While there are some basic stages that people go through the way the people
experience them varies across a wide variety of factors. This paper will explain the medical and
philosophical meaning of death while explaining the five stages of grief as seen by Wolterstorff,
and how Wolterstorff finds hope and joy after loss. This paper will provide an understanding of
the meaning and significance of death according to the Christian perspective while exploring the
importance of understanding the grieving process and the approaches, and practices in various
faiths different from one’s own.
Death and its meaning vary across cultures and different religions and beliefs. The
medical meaning of physical death is when the heart and brain cease to function. The
philosophical meaning of death can vary though according to different religions and beliefs that
each individual holds. Death is no respecter of people and happens to all of humanity and is
certainty of every human that exist (Shelly & Miller, 2006). Every human will die at some point
and our physical bodies cease to work and then our consciousness stops. Death has been a part of
human existence since time began it is what happens after physical death that things becomes
complex.
When death happens the loved ones that are left experience a phenomenon called grief.
The grieving process is a highly personal and individual process and every person experiences
the different aspects in different ways (Kubler-Ross, 2019). There are generally five stages that
are used to define grief and categorize the different aspects of it. Wolterstorff (1987) takes the
first step of anger and is angry about the loss of her son at a young age and the absence she feels
in her life after he is gone. This step of anger is very common in loved ones after someone passes
2
Assignment Topic 5: Death and Stages of Grief
Name
Grand Canyon University: HLT-302
8/19/2020
Professor
1
, Elements of Grief and Loss 2
The nature of grief and loss is a very personal and individual experience that is unique to
each person. While there are some basic stages that people go through the way the people
experience them varies across a wide variety of factors. This paper will explain the medical and
philosophical meaning of death while explaining the five stages of grief as seen by Wolterstorff,
and how Wolterstorff finds hope and joy after loss. This paper will provide an understanding of
the meaning and significance of death according to the Christian perspective while exploring the
importance of understanding the grieving process and the approaches, and practices in various
faiths different from one’s own.
Death and its meaning vary across cultures and different religions and beliefs. The
medical meaning of physical death is when the heart and brain cease to function. The
philosophical meaning of death can vary though according to different religions and beliefs that
each individual holds. Death is no respecter of people and happens to all of humanity and is
certainty of every human that exist (Shelly & Miller, 2006). Every human will die at some point
and our physical bodies cease to work and then our consciousness stops. Death has been a part of
human existence since time began it is what happens after physical death that things becomes
complex.
When death happens the loved ones that are left experience a phenomenon called grief.
The grieving process is a highly personal and individual process and every person experiences
the different aspects in different ways (Kubler-Ross, 2019). There are generally five stages that
are used to define grief and categorize the different aspects of it. Wolterstorff (1987) takes the
first step of anger and is angry about the loss of her son at a young age and the absence she feels
in her life after he is gone. This step of anger is very common in loved ones after someone passes
2
