DEATH AND DEPRIVATION

Abstract:  The view that death is the loss of a person's future is less defensible than many philosophers have thought, in part because it is often presented as a response to an indefensibly crude Epicurean doctrine. But the most direct argument for this view suffers from two sorts of ambiguity – the first concerning what it is to "have" a future to lose, the second concerning what the loss consists in. However, another conception of what is lost is possible, and this alternative, which is more congenial to the Epicurean outlook, does not depend on considerations about the future.     

Boundaries as Distance Regulators in Personal Relationships

Received wisdom suggests that boundaries are, or should be, important in intimate relationships. In this essay, we focus primarily upon the beliefs and phenomenology relating to a variety of boundaries, and provide a discussion of some conceptual issues, in order to understand better the development, facilitation, and maintenance of, as well as restraints upon, intimacy. Although we attend mainly to dyadic relationships, we believe that our observations and suggestions have application to larger groups.     

"Detoxification" of Vietnam War Trauma: A Combined Family-Individual Approach

Treatment with families of veterans suffering from the aftereffects of combat trauma in the Vietnam War often requires a preliminary phase of disjoint treatment, in which family members are seen separately, before conjoint treatment can proceed. In this disjoint phase of treatment, wives and children are introduced to the brutal realities of Vietnam combat experience and to an understanding of its sequelae. This disjoint phase of family therapy detoxifies combat experience so that it can be approached in subsequent conjoint sessions along with more traditional family therapy issues.     

Jobs You Won't Find in the Dictionary of Occupational Titles

This article, although written in a whimsical style, points out the value-laden nature of our premier source of occupational information, the Dictionary of Occupational Titles. Other than legal occupations, jobs that are remunerative can be placed into three categories: (a) illegal occupations, (b) underground or counterculture occupations, and (c) occupations “in limbo.”