Death presents us with perhaps the most formidable challenge to living a good life. Philosophical questions about death abound: what is it to die? Is the state of death separable from the process of dying? If so, which of these — if either — are bad? And how could they be bad for us, if we don’t exist once we die? In this session, we’ll revisit the competing views of the good life we’ve been considering all semester, and ask what they have to say about the role death should play in our thinking about this topic.
Key Concepts:
- Conditional vs. categorical desires
- Williams’ argument for the tedium of immortality
- Lucretian symmetry
Pre-Class Questions
- Summarize Bernard Williams’ argument for the tedium of immortality in your own words (either in paragraph form, an argument map, or premise-conclusion form) and state the strongest possible objection you can think of. Do you think it is a strong argument overall? Explain.
- What do you hope happens after you die? If you hope for an afterlife, what is it like? If you hope death is the end of life, why? Describe your hope in some detail. What do you think your answer suggests about what you value most in your life now?
- Is there anything in today’s reading that you’re confused about? What questions do you have? What other, related topics would you like to discuss in class? Follow the links to respond on PollEverywhere, and/or upvote any classmates responses’ that you’d also like to see covered in class.
Content Reflection
In a museum or online, find at least two different works of art that depict death, dying, or an extremely long life. What similarities and differences do you notice in how they present these themes? What ideas does this imply about the role of death in a good life? Do you agree with these? Explain. Be sure to include the titles and artist names for the works of art you discuss.
