Death
eBook - PDF

Death

  1. 416 pages
  2. English
  3. PDF
  4. Available on iOS & Android
eBook - PDF

Death

About this book

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.

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Yes, you can access Death by Shelly Kagan in PDF and/or ePUB format, as well as other popular books in Philosophy & Mind & Body in Philosophy. We have over one million books available in our catalogue for you to explore.

Information

Publisher
Yale University Press
Year
2012
eBook ISBN
9780300183429
Edition
1
Topic
Philosophy
Subtopic
Mind & Body in Philosophy
Dualism 
versus 
Physicalism 
23
a 
soul 
and 
the 
soul 
is 
an 
immaterial 
object. 
And 
in 
this 
book, 
when 
I 
use 
the 
word 
“soul,” 
I 
will 
try 
to 
reserve 
it 
for 
that 
particular 
metaphysical 
view, 
according 
to 
which 
souls 
are 
something 
immaterial. 
In 
contrast 
to 
that, 
of 
course, 
we’ve 
also 
got 
the 
physicalist 
view. 
Physicalists 
also 
believe 
in 
minds. 
But 
according 
to 
physicalists, 
minds 
are 
just 
a 
way 
of 
talking 
about 
the 
abilities 
of 
the 
body. 
Physicalists 
certainly 
do 
not
believe 
in 
immaterial 
souls 
of 
the 
sort 
that 
dualists 
believe 
in. 
So 
just 
to 
keep 
things 
clear, 
I 
will 
say 
that 
physicalists 
do 
not 
believe 
in 
souls 
at 
all. 
ey 
believe 
in 
minds, 
but 
not 
in 
souls.
Our 
question, 
then, 
is 
this: 
who 
should 
we 
believe, 
the 
dualist 
or 
the 
physicalist? 
Are 
there 
souls, 
or 
not?

Table of contents

  1. Contents
  2. Acknowledgments
  3. 1. Thinking about Death
  4. 2. Dualism versus Physicalism
  5. 3. Arguments for the Existence of the Soul
  6. 4. Descartes’ Argument
  7. 5. Plato on the Immortality of the Soul
  8. 6. Personal Identity
  9. 7. Choosing between the Theories
  10. 8. The Nature of Death
  11. 9. Two Surprising Claims about Death
  12. 10. The Badness of Death
  13. 11. Immortality
  14. 12. The Value of Life
  15. 13. Other Aspects of Death
  16. 14. Living in the Face of Death
  17. 15. Suicide
  18. 16. Conclusion
  19. Notes
  20. Suggestions for Further Reading
  21. Index