IN_FINITE. Living with Death.

we burn as much oil, natural gas and coal worldwide in
a single day as was created over the course of 500,000
years. 4 These fossil fuels are the drivers of economic
growth and prosperity – a finite resource, the product
of plants and animals that died millions of years ago.
Humans are moving both within and beyond their natural
limits. They use three-quarters of the Earth’s surface
and two-thirds of its oceans and have thus become a
planetary force that is upsetting the balance of natural
processes that are billions of years old. An estimated
one million species are threatened with extinction. The
decline of biodiversity also threatens the very basis of
human life (Matthias Glaubrecht, p. 162). We have become
our own gravediggers.
Are we thus at the beginning of the end of human
history? The Indian historian Dipesh Chakrabarty is “not
optimistic, but hopeful” – because human beings are
capable of learning. He suggests broadening the global
perspective on the world to include a planetary view that
decentres humanity and understands its history as part
of natural history (Dipesh Chakrabarty, p. 184).
The stories we tell about ourselves and our relationship
to the world are among the most powerful tools we
have as humans. Robin Wall Kimmerer, a plant ecologist
and member of the Potawatomi people, calls for combining
Indigenous wisdom with science to reform our
relationship with nature. She wants to bring ancient stories
to life, stories in which humans do not stand at the
top of a hierarchy as the purported crown of creation,
but rather exist in a symbiotic interdependence with all
living things; as part of the biosphere, dependent also on
the flourishing of the non-human living world (Robin Wall
Kimmerer, p. 180).
How can we live with the awareness of our natural
transience and the vulnerability of all living things? How
can we live better with the responsibility that comes
with this knowledge? What cultural narrative helps us to
channel our fear of death in constructive ways? Or, in the
words of Ernest Becker: “What is life-enhancing illusion?”
5 – for us personally, as a community, as a society,
as a species, and for the planet?
This book, like the exhibition, is rich in experiential
knowledge. Many thanks are due to the people from
Berlin’s urban society who shared their ideas about death
and a piece of their lives with us, as well as to the palliative
care providers from around the world for sharing
their touching and enriching encounters, for giving us
insight into their experiences of caring for the dying
and thus a “glimpse of human nature” (Noreen Chan,
p. 78). These conversations and encounters would not
have been possible without the support of numerous
medi ators, translators and interviewers from around the
world. My express thanks go to all the authors for their
contributions and expertise.
My special thanks go to the curatorial team, my “Circle of
Trust”, Gesine Last and Jan Zappe, as versatile contributors
and active thinkers for their invaluable support on
various levels, Kathrin Haase for her support in researching
the protagonists for the World Death Conference, and
Yvonne Zindel for researching the diverse protagonists
from Berlin’s urban society with their different conceptions
of the hereafter.
Last but not least, my thanks are due to the Humboldt
Forum Foundation: General Director Hartmut Dorgerloh for
his great trust, the exhibition team led by Anke Daemgen,
David Blankenstein and Frank Meißner, as well as Sibylle
Kussmaul and Marc Wrasse from the Education and
Outreach Department for their support, Susanne Müller-
Wolff as the person responsible for the publication for
her careful planning, and Barbara Martinkat for her stylish
image editing.
Thanks also go to Sahar Aharoni, whose skilful design
has made this book look so inviting, to Barbara Delius for
decisively enhancing the publication with her critical and
constructive view of the big picture and her unerring eye
for detail, and to Danko Szabó for his copy editing.
1 Ernest Becker, The Denial of Death, London 1973, p. 26.
2 Philippe Ariès, Philippe Ariès, The Hour of Our Death [1977], trans. Helen
Weaver, New York 1981, p. 95.
3 Ibid., p. 610.
4 Jürgen Renn, “Das Anthropozän und die Geschichte des Wissens”, 28 February
2022; ww.br.de/mediathek/video/prof-dr-juergen-renn-das-anthropozaen-und-die-geschichte-des-wissens-av:5dce82a1ebea9c001ad6f8bd
[accessed on 30 January 2023].
5 Becker 1973 (see note 1) p. 158 [emphasis in the original].
18 INTRODUCTION DETLEF VÖGELI 19