A society of sorrow: the constitution of society through grief

ABSTRACT

In the sociology of the emotions, it has been common to approach emotions as socially constructed. Researchers have rightly asked how society and social processes shape emotional life, and this approach has generated many valuable insights. In this article, I argue that we should also approach the relation between emotions and society from a complementary perspective and ask how society itself is constituted through specific emotional processes. Social researchers of existential leanings have argued along these lines, pointing out how the human fear of death is crucial for the constitution of society. I argue that an equally fundamental emotion for the constitution of society is grief. I take up Tony Walter’s claim that grief underlies the very constitution of society and seek to develop it into a broader understanding of how human social life presuppose practices of grief and mourning, which enable collectives to move into the future on the basis of their past. I end with a brief discussion of how the current pathologization of grief may impact societal processes and our views of human beings.

KEYWORDS:

• Grief
• sorrow
• social construction
• emotions
• existence
• society
• pathologization

Acknowledgement

I wish to thank The Obel Foundation for supporting the research project The Culture of Grief of which this article is a part. I also wish to thank two anonymous reviewers whose comments improved the arguments of the article.

Notes on contributors

Svend Brinkmann is Professor of Psychology in the Department of Communication and Psychology at the University of Aalborg, Denmark, where he serves as co-director of the Centre for Qualitative Studies. His research is particularly concerned with philosophical, moral, and methodological issues in the human and social sciences. In recent years he has been studying the impact of psychiatric diagnoses on individuals and society and is now investigating the current culture of grief.

Notes

1. The new diagnostic criteria for Persistent complex bereavement-related disorder require the following (Jordan and Litz 2014, 182):

1. Death of a close other

2. Since the death, at least one of the following on most days to a clinically significant degree for at least 12 months:

   1. Persistent yearning for the deceased

   2. Intense sorrow and emotional pain in response to the death

   3. Preoccupation with the deceased

   4. Preoccupation with the circumstances of the death

3. Since the death, at least six of the following on most days to a clinically significant degree for at least 12 months after the death:

   1. Marked difficulty accepting the death

   2. Disbelief or emotional numbness over the loss

   3. Difficulty with positive reminiscing about the deceased

   4. Bitterness or anger related to the loss

   5. Maladaptive appraisals about oneself in relation to the deceased or the death (e.g. self-blame)

   6. Excessive avoidance of reminders of the loss

   7. A desire to die to be with the deceased

   8. Difficulty trusting other people since the death

   9. Feeling alone or detached from other people since the death

   10. Feeling that life is meaningless or empty without the deceased or the belief that one cannot function without the deceased

   11. Confusion about one’s role in life or a diminished sense of one’s identity

   12. Difficulty or reluctance to pursue interests or to plan for the future (e.g. friendships, activities) since the loss

4. The disturbance causes clinically significant distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning

5. The bereavement reaction must be out of proportion or inconsistent with cultural or religious norms

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by Det Obelske Familiefond [grant number 28153]