Vicarious Grief, Mental Health, and the Duty to Grieve

Abstract

In Grief: A Philosophical Guide, Michael Cholbi presents a compelling account of the nature of grief. To further illustrate how fruitful the philosophical study of grief, and Cholbi’s account of it is, I present three sets of comments. The first regards the extent to which Cholbi’s account of grief also provides an account of vicarious grief. The second concerns the paradox of grief and the good of grief, and suggests one reason we may recommend grief is that grieving is healthy. The final set of comments pertains to the duty to grieve, and whether this duty may extend to other emotionally rich activities, such as falling in love.