A philosopher's last lesson

Socrates once described philosophy as "the practice of death", highlighting the significance of life and death in philosophical studies. So, what happens when a modern philosopher confronts his own approaching death?

Using his life experiences, Zhu Rui, a philosophy professor at Renmin University of China in Beijing, answered this question by telling people that death is not something to be feared.

His final words are recorded in The Last Lesson of a Philosopher, a new book released this year that focuses on the researcher's ideas about life and death.

It all started in the summer of 2022, when Zhu, then 54 years old, was diagnosed with late-stage rectal cancer. During his treatments, he chose to return to the classroom and continue his lectures and studies.

In January 2024, he was told by doctors that he would soon lose his ability to walk, but the former hiking lover insisted on opening his final course, "Art and the Human Brain", in the spring semester, walking with his alpenstock.

On June 4, he gave his final school lesson. Days later, he was told by doctors that his cancer treatment had come to an end, but he had not recovered. No amount of medical treatment could help him regain his life, and he was given about a month to live.

On July 12, he moved to the palliative care unit at the Beijing Haidian Hospital. Believing that "dialogue is the best way to say goodbye", he contacted young journalist Xie Yihong, who was 30 years his junior, to talk with him for a while every day about life and death.

From July 15, they held 10 conversations, each about one hour, until Zhu could not continue. On Aug 1, 2024, he died with a smile on his lips.

"In the hospital, he had witnessed so many deaths in two years. The desperation that other patients and their family members experienced tortured him even more than his own pain. He thought, if more people talked about death rationally, people might reduce their unnecessary fear of it," says Zhu Sumei, Zhu Rui's sibling.

"As a terminal-stage cancer patient, doctors have told me I could pass away any time. With limited time left, I feel an urgent need to share my thoughts on life and death — topics that people rarely discuss but deeply care about," Zhu Rui said when he was alive. "We talk about death so that we can live better."