Death

Front Cover
Yale University Press, Apr 24, 2012 - Philosophy - 376 pages

There is one thing we can be sure of: we are all going to die. But once we accept that fact, the questions begin. In this thought-provoking book, philosophy professor Shelly Kagan examines the myriad questions that arise when we confront the meaning of mortality. Do we have reason to believe in the existence of immortal souls? Or should we accept an account according to which people are just material objects, nothing more? Can we make sense of the idea of surviving the death of one's body? If I won't exist after I die, can death truly be bad for me? Would immortality be desirable? Is fear of death appropriate? Is suicide ever justified? How should I live in the face of death?

Written in an informal and conversational style, this stimulating and provocative book challenges many widely held views about death, as it invites the reader to take a fresh look at one of the central features of the human condition—the fact that we will die. 

 

Contents

1 Thinking about Death
1
2 Dualism versus Physicalism
6
3 Arguments for the Existence of the Soul
24
4 Descartes Argument
57
5 Plato on the Immortality of the Soul
69
6 Personal Identity
98
7 Choosing between the Theories
132
8 The Nature of Death
170
11 Immortality
234
12 The Value of Life
247
13 Other Aspects of Death
264
14 Living in the Face of Death
282
15 Suicide
318
An Invitation
362
Notes
365
Suggestions for Further Reading
369

9 Two Surprising Claims about Death
186
10 The Badness of Death
205

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About the author (2012)

Shelly Kagan is Clark Professor of Philosophy, Yale University. He is the author of Normative Ethics and The Limits of Morality. He lives in Hamden, CT.

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