%0 Journal Article
%T Rhetorical overtone of selected concepts of the philosophy of death and its consolatory role
%A Pucko, Zygmunt
%J Art of Healing
%V 2024 (Early View)
%N Volume 39 Issue 2

%K death, cognition, rhetotics, therapy
%@ 1234-7175
%U https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/sztuka-leczenia/article/retoryczny-wydzwiek-wybranych-koncepcji-filozofii-smierci-i-jego-pocieszajaca-rola
%X Death happens just once in a single human’s lifetime, irrevocably destroying their existence. It is universal, and yet it remains hard to define. Human mind is absolutely helpless when it comes to death and yet – despite its limitations – it keeps trying to decipher its mystery. This is why the philosophers have formulated various beliefs concerning death throughout history and have tried to prove that they are right in their own ways. They sometimes use a syllogism to justify their theses. However, they are more likely to frequently use rhetorical devices. The most popular include a unique language, persuasion, figures of speech, sophisms and flights of rhetorics. None of the death concepts quoted in this article was proven by their authors and is considered probable. All of them seem to be abstract constructs closer to rhetoric than philosophy. From the cognitive point of view, they do not offer any knowledge of death, but have a certain therapeutic value as they spark imagination, organize emotions and influence the mind. What is more, they provide theoretical reference systems for a human being. They structure their basic existential categories, help to make sense of eschatological problems and prove transience purposeful. Paradoxically, the models may become a safe shelter from the dread of death and provide mental support for people. Despite their unrealistic character, they get a quasi-ontological status within the mental dimension and are deemed a special form of existence, resulting in permanent effects in the area of consciousness and in the behavioral zone.