Death / Shelly Kagan.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Kagan, Shelly.

Series:

Open Yale courses series

The open Yale courses series

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Death.

Physical Description:

ix, 376 pages : illustrations ; 24 cm.

Place of Publication:

New Haven : Yale University Press, [2012]

Summary:

There is one tiling 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. Book jacket.

Contents:

Thinking about death

Dualism vs. physicalism

Arguments for the existence of the soul

Descartes' argument

Plato on the immortality of the soul

Personal identity

Choosing between the theories

The nature of death

Two surprising claims about death

The badness of death

Immortality

The value of life

Other aspects of death

Living in the face of death

Suicide

Conclusion: an invitation.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

9780300180848

0300180845

OCLC:

759174181