On the Appropriateness of Grief to its Object

TY - JOUR

T1 - On the Appropriateness of Grief to its Object

AU - Ratcliffe, Matthew James

AU - Richardson, Louise Fiona

AU - Millar, Becky

N1 - © The Author(s) 2022

PY - 2023/6/1

Y1 - 2023/6/1

N2 - How we understand the nature and role of grief depends on what we take its object to be and vice versa. This paper focuses on recent claims by philosophers that grief is frequently or even inherently irrational or inappropriate in one or another respect, all of which hinge on assumptions concerning the proper object of grief. By emphasizing the temporally extended structure of grief, we offer an alternative account of its object, which undermines these assumptions and dissolves the apparent problems. The principal object of grief, we suggest, is a loss of life-possibilities, which is experienced, understood, and engaged with over a prolonged period. Other descriptions of grief’s object identify more specific aspects of this loss, in ways that do not respect a straightforward distinction between concrete and formal objects.

AB - How we understand the nature and role of grief depends on what we take its object to be and vice versa. This paper focuses on recent claims by philosophers that grief is frequently or even inherently irrational or inappropriate in one or another respect, all of which hinge on assumptions concerning the proper object of grief. By emphasizing the temporally extended structure of grief, we offer an alternative account of its object, which undermines these assumptions and dissolves the apparent problems. The principal object of grief, we suggest, is a loss of life-possibilities, which is experienced, understood, and engaged with over a prolonged period. Other descriptions of grief’s object identify more specific aspects of this loss, in ways that do not respect a straightforward distinction between concrete and formal objects.

U2 - 10.1017/apa.2021.55

DO - 10.1017/apa.2021.55

M3 - Article

SN - 2053-4477

VL - 9

SP - 318

EP - 334

JO - Journal of the American Philosophical Association

JF - Journal of the American Philosophical Association

IS - 2

ER -