Oxford shoppers ponder the meaning of death (From The Oxford Times)

Oxford shoppers ponder the meaning of death

12:10pm Thursday 7th February 2013 in News

SHOPPERS in Oxford’s Cornmarket Street were invited to take time out from the stores to discuss the meaning of death.

Students from Oxford University and Oxford Brookes University staffed the stall in Cornmarket Street on Saturday.

They were advertising Think Week, and spoke to more than 50 people about a topic that most people wish to avoid.

Think Week will take place across the city from next Monday to the following Monday, February 18.

Co-presidents David Shorthouse of Oxford University and Annie Webster of Oxford Brookes University were on the stall.

Miss Webster, 25, who is studying a Masters in Philosophy, said: “We have had some quite lengthy debates on the stall. We have been talking a bit about different approaches to death.

“We have discussed different interpretations from the Bible. A Jehovah’s Witness visited the stall and we spoke about the differences between approaches.

“We have also been speaking about the Buddhist approach to death.”

Visitor Malcolm Quigley, 45, who lives and works in Didcot, said: “I’m an Atheist so don’t believe in the concept of an afterlife.”

People have another chance to join the debate on Saturday when the stall returns.