{"id":727,"date":"2018-07-12T14:40:44","date_gmt":"2018-07-12T13:40:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/?p=727"},"modified":"2018-07-13T18:18:30","modified_gmt":"2018-07-13T17:18:30","slug":"laqueur-work-of-dead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/","title":{"rendered":"Thomas Laqueur on the work of the dead"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/w.soundcloud.com\/player\/?url=https%3A\/\/api.soundcloud.com\/tracks\/470666961&amp;color=%23373213&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false&amp;show_teaser=true\" width=\"100%\" height=\"166\" frameborder=\"no\" scrolling=\"no\"><\/iframe>This programme features an interview with Berkeley cultural historian <a href=\"http:\/\/history.berkeley.edu\/people\/thomas-w-laqueur\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Thomas Laqueur<\/a>. We spoke recently about his latest book, <em>T<a href=\"https:\/\/press.princeton.edu\/titles\/10535.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">he Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains<\/a><\/em>, a book Lynn Hunt called \u2018nothing short of a magnum opus\u2019.<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-732\" src=\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/laqueur-work-of-the-dead-198x300.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"198\" height=\"300\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/laqueur-work-of-the-dead-198x300.jpg 198w, https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/laqueur-work-of-the-dead.jpg 450w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 198px) 100vw, 198px\" \/>The &#8216;Diogenes question&#8217; is at the heart of Laqueur\u2019s 700pp inquiry into the work of the dead, it\u2019s the provocation that sets the whole thing in motion: almost two and a half thousand years ago, the Greek philosopher instructed his students to toss his body over a wall when he died, to be devoured by beasts. \u2018How am I injured by being torn by those animals, he asked, if I have no sensation?\u2019<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft wp-image-731 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Lansdown-graveyard.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1000\" height=\"995\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Lansdown-graveyard.jpg 1000w, https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Lansdown-graveyard-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Lansdown-graveyard-300x300.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/Lansdown-graveyard-768x764.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1000px) 100vw, 1000px\" \/><\/p>\n<p>And yet, we feel strongly that there is something profoundly wrong with this attitude and that feeling is not the preserve of any particular time, culture or religion. It dates back even longer ago than Diogenes: we know that (at least some) Neanderthals buried their dead. In answering Diogenes, Laqueur writes, \u2018we explain to ourselves why a corpse remains within culture, bears the mark of life, and cannot be thrown away as carrion\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>The ways in which this has happened are the subject of his book.<\/p>\n<p>Near the start of the book, Laqueur quotes C20th German philosopher <a href=\"https:\/\/plato.stanford.edu\/entries\/gadamer\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Hans-Georg Gadamer<\/a>. The burial of the dead, Gadamer wrote:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>is perhaps the fundamental phenomenon of becoming human. Burial does not refer to the rapid hiding of the dead, a swift clearing away of the shocking impression made by one suddenly stuck fast in a leaden and lasting sleep. On the contrary, by a remarkable expenditure of human labour and sacrifice there is sought an abiding with the dead, indeed a holding fast of the dead among the living.\u2019<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Laqueur\u2019s book is about that expenditure of human labour, that abiding with the dead \u2013 and the work the dead do on our behalf, the order and meaning they help maintain for the living.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This programme features an interview with Berkeley cultural historian Thomas Laqueur. We spoke recently about his latest book, The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains, a&hellip; <a class=\"excerpt-more-link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/\">Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":728,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20,2,3,25],"tags":[16],"class_list":["post-727","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-anthropology","category-history","category-podcast","category-supernatural","tag-podcast"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v26.9 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Thomas Laqueur on the work of the dead - The Hedgehog and the Fox<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_GB\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Thomas Laqueur on the work of the dead - The Hedgehog and the Fox\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"This programme features an interview with Berkeley cultural historian Thomas Laqueur. We spoke recently about his latest book, The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains, a&hellip; Read More\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Hedgehog and the Fox\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2018-07-12T13:40:44+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2018-07-13T17:18:30+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/unsafe-memorial.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"998\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"G Miller\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"G Miller\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Estimated reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"G Miller\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#\/schema\/person\/8e04938e443a636a971e0c21379aa2d1\"},\"headline\":\"Thomas Laqueur on the work of the dead\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-12T13:40:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-07-13T17:18:30+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/\"},\"wordCount\":333,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/unsafe-memorial.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"podcast\"],\"articleSection\":[\"anthropology\",\"history\",\"podcast\",\"supernatural\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/\",\"name\":\"Thomas Laqueur on the work of the dead - The Hedgehog and the Fox\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/unsafe-memorial.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2018-07-12T13:40:44+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2018-07-13T17:18:30+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#\/schema\/person\/8e04938e443a636a971e0c21379aa2d1\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/unsafe-memorial.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/unsafe-memorial.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":998},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Thomas Laqueur on the work of the dead\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/\",\"name\":\"The Hedgehog and the Fox\",\"description\":\"Answering questions large and small\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#\/schema\/person\/8e04938e443a636a971e0c21379aa2d1\",\"name\":\"G Miller\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-GB\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0776b634bbf57654833bbacfd16d780c674aa5d2e41797a9fbf4f255099258e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0776b634bbf57654833bbacfd16d780c674aa5d2e41797a9fbf4f255099258e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"G Miller\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/author\/geomiller65btinternet-com\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Thomas Laqueur on the work of the dead - The Hedgehog and the Fox","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/","og_locale":"en_GB","og_type":"article","og_title":"Thomas Laqueur on the work of the dead - The Hedgehog and the Fox","og_description":"This programme features an interview with Berkeley cultural historian Thomas Laqueur. We spoke recently about his latest book, The Work of the Dead: A Cultural History of Mortal Remains, a&hellip; Read More","og_url":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/","og_site_name":"The Hedgehog and the Fox","article_published_time":"2018-07-12T13:40:44+00:00","article_modified_time":"2018-07-13T17:18:30+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":998,"url":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/unsafe-memorial.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"G Miller","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"G Miller","Estimated reading time":"2 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/"},"author":{"name":"G Miller","@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#\/schema\/person\/8e04938e443a636a971e0c21379aa2d1"},"headline":"Thomas Laqueur on the work of the dead","datePublished":"2018-07-12T13:40:44+00:00","dateModified":"2018-07-13T17:18:30+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/"},"wordCount":333,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/unsafe-memorial.jpg","keywords":["podcast"],"articleSection":["anthropology","history","podcast","supernatural"],"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/","url":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/","name":"Thomas Laqueur on the work of the dead - The Hedgehog and the Fox","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/unsafe-memorial.jpg","datePublished":"2018-07-12T13:40:44+00:00","dateModified":"2018-07-13T17:18:30+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#\/schema\/person\/8e04938e443a636a971e0c21379aa2d1"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-GB","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/unsafe-memorial.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/unsafe-memorial.jpg","width":1000,"height":998},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/2018\/07\/12\/laqueur-work-of-dead\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Thomas Laqueur on the work of the dead"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/","name":"The Hedgehog and the Fox","description":"Answering questions large and small","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-GB"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#\/schema\/person\/8e04938e443a636a971e0c21379aa2d1","name":"G Miller","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-GB","@id":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0776b634bbf57654833bbacfd16d780c674aa5d2e41797a9fbf4f255099258e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/0776b634bbf57654833bbacfd16d780c674aa5d2e41797a9fbf4f255099258e0?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"G Miller"},"url":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/author\/geomiller65btinternet-com\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/07\/unsafe-memorial.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=727"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":735,"href":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/727\/revisions\/735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/728"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=727"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=727"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.podularity.com\/thehedgehogandthefox\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=727"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}