Skip main navigation

What we leave behind

Watch humanist celebrants describe how something of us can survive our deaths
‘Death destroys a man, but the idea of death saves him.’
E M Forster, author and humanist

Themes

  • The collaborative nature of our species and our capacity to share ideas means the impact of our lives can live on after our deaths through the connections we made and the relationships we held, through the contributions we made to society, and through the memories we leave behind in others
  • Joy can be found in recognising the influence someone had on our lives
  • We can keep other people ‘alive’ by retelling their stories
  • Awareness of death as the end of life can motivate us to make the most of the one life we have

Question: The impact we have on others can survive our deaths. How might this influence both the way we live and the way we approach death?

This article is from the free online

Humanist Lives, with Alice Roberts

Created by
FutureLearn - Learning For Life

Reach your personal and professional goals

Unlock access to hundreds of expert online courses and degrees from top universities and educators to gain accredited qualifications and professional CV-building certificates.

Join over 18 million learners to launch, switch or build upon your career, all at your own pace, across a wide range of topic areas.

Start Learning now